What to see near Villafañe (Villasabariego municipality)
We are in the Porma valley, in the municipality of Villasabariego, a quarter of an hour from León.
Below is everything there is around us, with real distances measured from our own door —
not from the centre of the village.
Photos: Rodelar, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped
The Cuevas Menudas
5 minutes on foot
Seventeen hermit cells carved into the cliff, below the hill fort of
Villasabariego. Monks looking for silence cut into the soft rock of the escarpment and
lived up there, with the whole Porma valley in front of them. They have been a
listed heritage site since 1985.
Inside there are carvings on the walls: crosses, animal figures and geometric
patterns left by the people who lived there. They are worth looking for, because they are not
individually signposted.
It is easily the most impressive thing we have nearby, and a great many people
who pass through León have no idea it exists. There is a viewpoint, made-up paths and
information panels, but no ticket office and no opening hours: you just walk up.
What nobody tells you: you can walk there from the house, but the last stretch is
uphill and the ground is loose — trainers are fine, flip-flops are not. And go at dusk:
the sunset from up there is something else.
Go and see them. They were on Hispania Nostra's Red List of heritage at risk and
were successfully recovered, but the rock is clay and keeps eroding with rain and frost.
They will not always be like this — and for that very reason: look, but don't
touch the walls.
Photo: Rodelar, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 · cropped
The Lancia archaeological site
7 minutes by car
The Validisima Civitas of the Astures, the city that held out against Rome. Today you can
walk its streets, the macellum —the market— and the baths, all at
ground level with no fences in the way.
The guided tours are back, and they are free. They are run by the Instituto Leonés
de Cultura, from 11:00 to 14:00: Thursday to Sunday until 31 October, and Friday
to Sunday from November until 29 January 2027.
For groups: from 10 people you can request a guided tour any day except Monday, in
the morning, by calling +34 987 262 799 or writing to
etnografiaypatrimonio@dipuleon.es. If several families are travelling together, this is a great
morning out.
Photo: Noel Canales, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 ES · cropped
León city
10-15 minutes by car
The Gothic cathedral and its stained glass, the Royal Collegiate Church of
San Isidoro with the "Sistine Chapel of Romanesque art", Gaudí's Casa
Botines, the MUSAC and the Barrio Húmedo for tapas.
That is exactly the good part of sleeping out here: the city is within reach and the
quiet is guaranteed when you get back. You go down for dinner, have your tapas, and
fifteen minutes later you are back in the countryside.
One tip: the inside of the cathedral changes with the hour — aim for the
mid-afternoon sun, when the stained glass lights up the whole nave.
Photo: David Perez, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 · cropped
Monastery of San Miguel de Escalada
20 minutes by car
A jewel of tenth-century Mozarabic art. That portico of horseshoe
arches in the photo was raised by monks who came from Córdoba more than a thousand years
ago, and it is still there, in the middle of the fields, without a single fence around it.
It is one of those places you arrive at without great expectations and leave in silence. And one
of the most photogenic in the whole province, especially early in the day.
The important bit:the portico and the exterior can always be seen,
with no opening hours or tickets, and that alone is worth the trip. To go inside, do check the
opening times before you set off, because they change with the season.
The river Porma: fishing, picnics and a river beach
10 min on foot or by bike · under 5 by car
Below the bridge of Roman origin —the one that gives Puente Villarente its name and
that the Camino de Santiago crosses— there are picnic tables and benches, a playground and
parking, plus a river beach recently opened by the council for cooling off
in summer.
This is traditional fishing country, with prize-winning anglers. If you are coming
to fish, you are sleeping ten minutes' walk from the river.
Best of all, you can walk there. It is about ten minutes from the house, and on a
bike it is nothing — the walk is worth it in itself. And if you don't fancy walking, it is under
five minutes by car. In summer it is where almost everyone ends the day.
The PR-LE-66 trail
Starts in Villafañe
11 kilometres, circular, easy going, linking in a single walk almost everything
there is around here: it passes Lancia, the Cuevas Menudas and the Porma canals.
It starts in the village itself, so you begin and end at the door: no need to move
the car all day.
Mountain biking and walking
From the door
Country tracks, riverbanks and woodland right next door. Good country for mountain biking,
road cycling, trekking and circular routes through the Esla valley, with little traffic and
plenty of wide track.
Lago Sahechores · adventure on the water
26 minutes by car
A lake set up for spending the day on the water, on the way to the Picos de Europa. There are
Canadian canoes, paddle surf, water bikes and swan pedalos — and everything is
booked through their website before you go.
It is the perfect plan if you are travelling with children and the weather is good:
the morning on the water and lunch right there, at the Aitalas restaurant. You set
off after breakfast and come back in the afternoon. They also have a
motorhome parking area.
Book before you go: each activity is booked separately through their website, so
don't just turn up. Everything is at
lagosahechores.es.
The Camino de Santiago
10 minutes by car
The Mansilla de las Mulas → León stage of the French Way passes right by. Mansilla
still has its town walls and is worth the stop even if you are not walking.
San Isidro ski resort
45 minutes · Boñar road
Skiing, snowboarding and snow in winter at the Puerto de San Isidro. And along that same road, a
little further on, you reach the Picos de Europa.
Where to eat around here
What we genuinely recommend
We are not paid to say this and we have no arrangement with anyone: these are simply
the places we go to ourselves.
Casa Lupe · Santibáñez de Porma
A stone's throw away, down the valley. Proper home-style León cooking, in a Porma village like ours.
It is the easiest option if you would rather not drive far after lunch.
Their website, menu and phone number to book →
Restaurante El Besugo · Barrio Húmedo, León
When we go down to León, this is the one. We go often, we know them and we don't go
anywhere else — so this is not a polite recommendation: it is where we eat. They have been
serving León cooking since 1924.
Their classics: the croquetas, the sweetbreads, the
salt cod, the sea bream that gives the place its name, roast lamb
and suckling pig, and chickpeas with lobster. Two floors and two moods: downstairs wine and tapas,
upstairs a proper sit-down meal.
It is on calle Azabachería, right in the Barrio Húmedo, so you finish lunch already
where you want to be for a few more glasses.
La Venta del Aldeano · Valdeteja
This one is a full day out, up into the mountains along the Curueño valley. Home-style
León cooking in the Hoces de Valdeteja gorge, in a house more than a hundred years old. People go up
to see the waterfall or to fish, eat there and come back in the afternoon. Worth the
journey.
Their website and phone — book before you drive up →
And for everyday things: a supermarket, a petrol station and more restaurants, five
minutes away in Puente Villarente.
⚠️ Do call before you go, seriously.
These are all independent businesses with no connection to us: we don't run them, we
take no commission and we cannot book you a table. They close on odd days, take holidays, change
their hours in winter, and some only open with a booking.
Call and book before you go — it saves you the trip, and saves us the upset of you
finding the door shut because you read it here.
Puente Villarente and its Roman bridge
5 minutes by car
The village takes its name from its long bridge of Roman origin over the Porma,
still crossed by the Camino de Santiago. It is worth getting out of the car to see, even if you are
only going shopping.
The riverside picnic area is this one, and from the house you get there in about
ten minutes on foot or by bike, without taking the car.
And for the practical side: a supermarket, a petrol station, restaurants and all the
everyday services. The dual carriageway to León passes through here. Put another way,
there is no need to load up the car before you come: whatever you have forgotten is
five minutes away.
And to sleep, right in the middle of all this
Three rural apartments in Villafañe, with a pool, a garden and a hot tub.
Dogs welcome. Book direct, no commission.
