Between the lush valleys of western Asturias, just a few minutes from Santa Eulalia de Oscos, there's a short but attractive route. A semicircular route starting and ending in the village of Barcia, it runs through oak forests and old cortines (traditional structures used to protect beehives from bears); it crosses streams on wooden walkways and ascends to Pico del Orro, the highest point on the route.
Description of the Os Cortíos route
La PR-AS route 278Known as The Cortíos, is a semicircular path of approximately 8,5 kilometers, with a very moderate cumulative gradient (about 330 meters) which is ideal to do in a few 2,5 to 3 hours and suitable for almost any walker. It has Two parts Differentiated: the first (and last) is a river path that follows the Barcia River; the second is a circular trail that surrounds the hillside. It doesn't present any technical difficulties, although it's advisable to wear good footwear, especially if it's been raining, as the mud and wet leaves make what would otherwise be a pleasant walk slippery.
The tour starts from barcia, a small village with the typical houses of the area: cubic houses, with quartzite and slate walls, gabled roofs and well-carved granaries; standing out above all "The House at That Cape", which is not just an 18th-century mansion, but the work of an angry nobleman—Antonio Martínez Lastra y Ron—who, after a dispute with the monks of Villanueva, decided to build his own fiefdom, out of reach and overlooking the river. The complex has it all: a manor house, a chapel with an interior gallery, a granary, a small barn, and a slate perimeter wall, as if to say, "I'm in charge here."
From the Parking available next to the AS-27, you can reach the village of Barcia on foot. Once you cross it, you take the river path between oak trees, chestnut trees, holly trees, and mosses that invade the stone walls without permission. The name of the route comes from some unique elements of Asturian ethnographic heritage: the short or curtains, which are nothing more than stone enclosures (dry masonry), circular or ellipsoidal, with walls up to three meters high, finished with protruding slabs that are a reinforcement against rain and invading animals. They were once built to protect hives from fire and oso, an insatiable eater who was not a fairy tale character but a real presence in the mountains. The plantigrade never disdained a bite of honey, but the peasant economy was not in a position to lose even a swarm. Inside these fortresses for les abeyes (bees) the trobosTraditional hives made from hollow cork oak logs, arranged high and neatly in alignment. The complex, which looks as functional as it is beautiful today, is a testament to a beekeeping that was both a source of sustenance, exchange, and inheritance.
On this excursion you can visit two farmhouses: the Carrelo's Curtain and the Navallo CurtainBoth are signposted and in good condition, restored with respect and sobriety. Beside them, information panels display excerpts from ethnographic studies that recall that honey, in addition to sweetening, was used to pay rent to monasteries or as part of marriage dowries.
From the Carrelo curtain, the path ascends gently until reaching the Orro Peak, which at 630 meters above sea level is the highest point of the route. On the descent we will reach the A Pasadía stream, which we cross to gradually ascend and descend again until reaching Cortín de Navallo, the second peak of the day. From here, walking slowly along the river path, we complete the loop that returns us to the starting point. There is a wooden bridge over the Barcia River that clearly marks the junction of the outward and return journeys. This last stretch is especially pleasant: cool, shady, with thick moss and giant ferns, as if walking through an enchanted forest imagined by Tolkien.
An ethnographic and natural lesson
Anyone who walks this path calmly will take away more than just pretty photos. They will take away a very real lesson about what life was like in these mountains: hard, resourceful, frugal, but also wise and sustained over time. In a world where everything expires quickly, a stone curtain that has stood for two hundred years has much to teach. They are symbols of a domestic economy based on self-sufficiency, where bees were treated like livestock. Honey was sugar before sugar, a medicine before the medicine cabinet, a luxury before the market. Marriage dowries included one or two beehives, nor were wax tributes missing from feudal incomes.
The route is also a plant song: oak trees that stop time, hazel trees that frame bridges like scenes from a pastoral novel, and a diverse undergrowth with different species of heather, gorse, ferns, brooms, blueberries, etc.
The Barcia RiverModest in flow but generous in beauty, it accompanies much of the journey. And as the path rises, among ferns and heaths, the effort is rewarded with views of the Barcia Valley, the nearby villages, and the endless green carpet of the mountains.
Os Cortíos route data
Semicircular (linear section + circular section).
Total distance: 8,5 - 8,8 km
Estimated duration: 2 h 30 min – 3 h (at a leisurely pace).
Accumulated drop: approx. 330 m of ascent.
Difficulty: easy.
Signaling: PR (white and yellow). Well marked, although a map or GPS is recommended.
Points of interest: Village of Barcia, Cortín de Carrelo, Pico del Orro, Cortín de Navallo, forests of oaks, chestnuts and hollies.
Access and parking: From the AS-27, near Santa Eulalia de Oscos.
Recommendations: Hiking shoes, sun protection and a raincoat, water and some food.
Text: © Ramón Molleda for asturias.com
