In the Middle Ages, it was a vital route for muleteers. A classic thoroughfare for travelers and the transport of goods, it lasted for centuries. A significant portion of the products from eastern Asturias were carried along it to be sold in the central plateau, such as almagre, a reddish pigment obtained from iron oxide, highly sought after inland and which gave the route a new name: the Camín del Almagre (Almagre Road). The inhabitants of Sajambre used the route in reverse to "go to the fields," supplying the Asturian region with products unavailable locally, such as wheat and wine. It was also a key route for the seasonal migration of tile makers from Llanes to the lands of León.
Its current name is due to the will of a 17th-century clergyman, Pedro Díaz de Oseja, Archdeacon of Villaviciosa, who ordered that twenty ducats be paid annually from his income to "improve" this route, "in need of quarries, timbers and bridges."
Today, after the 19th-century construction of the current Pontón road through the Beyos gorge , the original path has been relegated to a pastoral and tourist role. It is an exceptional route due to the beauty of the landscape —preserved intact over time—and also for its clever layout and the engineering of its roadway. The original road is best observed halfway along the route, where the path crosses an area of extensive meadows surrounded by beech forests and mountains. This large meadow is still known as La Suelta (The Release) , as it was formerly the place where the oxen were "released" and changed from the carts to tackle the arduous climb up the mountain pass. Along the entire route , we discover verdant pastures teeming with livestock : cows, sheep, goats, and horses. and lush forests, especially of beech, oak and holly , the habitat of a fauna of deer, roe deer, chamois, wild boar, fox, squirrel and mustelids, as well as numerous birds, including the much protected capercaillie.
Information:
The duration of the route for the Path of the Archdeacon is variable, depending on the section we face. Between Amieva and Puerto del Pontón there is a total distance of close to the 30 kilometers with a hard drop, the complete completion of which would last two or three days.
The stretch (in Amieva territory) between the Beza port and the old bridge over the Dobra, would be for some authors the old Amieva Royal Way, while The Path of the Archdeacon It should be understood as the part of that royal road that goes from the pass of Angón to the port of Pontoon, passing through the Beza port.
According to this, we explain here this last itinerary as the authentic Path of the Archdeacon.
It will take us to travel it between 4 and 5 hours, with some unevenness of some 700 meters of ascent and some 600 of descent.
It is typified as Grand route (GR 201) and the route is fixed by red and white markings that show us the way at all times.
To get to Amieva: from Arriondas we continue to Cangas de Onís, at the entrance of this town we take the N-625 that takes us directly to the council of Amieva.
We start from Angón Hill (also known as cueón Angón, to 825 m). It is reached from Amieva by the concrete track that starts at the entrance to the village and ascends to the Cueries sheepfold. The path then continues along the Cuesta Galgueral and Campo Frade. At our feet we see the Dobra valley. We arrived at El Cantal, the anteroom of the Sabugo sheepfold, a kind of natural viewpoint towards the Dobra's sickle, the majestic Cantu Cabroneru and the Valdepino porra.
We continue by the sheepfold of Sabugo, an ancient settlement that came to have a hermitage dedicated to the Virgin. From Sabugo we will continue to cross the pass of La Batuda, falling to another one of the unique corners of grazing in Amieva: Toneyu. From here, one already ascends to the portza of Beza boundary between the councils of Amieva and Sajambre.
The next step will take us to the pass of Beza, from where, already in permanent descent, we will reach Soto de Sajambre, going through the revolts of the Posadorio and the winter ones of Valdelosciegos.
Useful telephone numbers
City Council of Amieva, Precendi: 985 94 46 76
City Council of Oseja de Sajambre: 987 74 09 81
Mountain Civil Guard and SEPRONA: 985 84 80 56
Another possible itinerary
Another possibility to face this path is to start from León. In this case we can stay at the Refugio de Riaño, where they will advise us on the route.
www.elrefugioderiano.com
Text: © Ramón Molleda for asturias.com
