The Mythological Route of the Beyu Pen, in the beautiful council of AmievaIt is nothing else an enchanted forest that keeps the soul of legendary characters and bewitches the walker. Its singularity with respect to other thematic paths resides in the fact that the hand of man has barely intervened in its creation. In our walk we guess sinister forms, faces lurking in the thicket, trunks that fascinate, fantastic rocks. The Xanas, goblins, pesadiellos, busgosos, nuberos or bruxas they are beings that in this case are outlined in the very nature of the forest. The formations of rocks and trees have been taken advantage of, with no more help than a little paint, to highlight their contours or silhouettes.
We ascend through the foz and everyone has to put their best to discover each and every one of these camouflaged characters. The cuélebre, which guards treasures and Xanes (fairies), which protects wealth and fertility, which also eat cattle and men, could well camouflage themselves in a fallen tree. The nuberu, which has fun causing storms and storms, throwing sparks at the animals and ruining the crops with hail, is embodied in the burned trunk of a chestnut tree. The busgosu, covered in mofu (moss) hides in forests and caves and kidnaps women; when we realize it is behind us, chiseled in the rock.
The "hidden identity" of this enchanted forest is reinforced by its spectacular vegetation. Not in vain in Asturian a «Beyu» is nothing other than a deep throat or canyoning a river, a narrow and humid area that allows to see large waterfalls during the rainy season. In the lushness of this «Beyu» the forest is native, of chestnut, oak and hazel. The karstic formations they are capricious everywhere and they show themselves «Les cuerries» or Cuerres, stone pens once used to store chestnuts and put them safe from forest animals.
We arrive at the recondite village of Pen, a town that brings together a large ethnographic group, such as sundial, in the house of Fondón, or its abundant granaries; one of them is cataloged as the largest hórreo of Asturias. It is easy to imagine inside the houses the legends transmitted for centuries to the warmth of home. There the magic and the superstition of the magical beings we have discovered in our walk are preserved.
One last attraction of the route, which we can visit before starting or returning, in the nearby town of Santillán, isl Karst interpretation center, where we find an explanatory model of how the water forms the karstic cavities that proliferate in the region. It is a specialized center also in the rock habitat, with the reproduction of a cave of the area at natural size.
How to get to the Beyu Pen Mythological Route?
Very easy. From Cangas de Onís, take the N-625 (Pontón road) following the course of the Sella River south. 10 km away, just before reaching the village of Santillán, turn right onto the AS-261 towards Beleño and Sellaño. About 500 meters further on, leave your car in a parking lot at the Trambesagües Recreational Area next to the road. The route itself connects the famous Camín de la Reina with the village of Pen. You can turn around at any time.
But if we decide to go to the village of Pen, the entire excursion, round trip, takes around two and a half or three hours.
Above the recreational area, where we have parked the car, a comfortable caleya (road) goes down to the confluence of the river Sella and the Ponga river where a footbridge allows access to the route from the town of Santianes. Some 400 meters later we reach the river that descends through the forest of the Beyu Pen and that we will cross by a wooden bridge. Here begins the true Mythological Route, the sign says so. If we follow the course of a stream always present, we will not have major complications. When leaving the foz a new bridge is reached. It would only be necessary to climb up to the nearby village of Pen. In the end it is a vertical drop of the walk has not exceeded the 242 meters.
Amieva Karst Interpretation Center.
Location: Santillán (a village in the eastern Asturian municipality of Amieva, whose capital, Sames, is 1,5 km away), at the crossroads of the Pontón road with the access to Ponga.
Information and reservations telephone number: 985 944 832
Opening hours: June to September: Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 11am to 14pm and 16:30pm to 19pm
Easter, long weekends and holidays: from 11:00 a.m. to 17:00 p.m.
Rest of the year: by prior reservation
Groups: prior reservation required.
Tourist Office Santillán (Amieva)
Hours: Friday and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 16:30 p.m., Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Tel. 650 61 77 91
Route of the Beyu Pen
It is not just another route, but one so magical that it encourages us to return as prisoners of the enchantment. A … Read more
Text: © Ramón Molleda for asturias.com
