A dolmen in a necropolis with five burial mounds, a castro with walls up to four metres high, and houses connected by raised passageways on a rocky slope: Illano’s cultural landscape reveals history in many forms. Viewpoints overlooking the Navia and paths through the surrounding area round out these discoveries.

Tombs and settlements from earlier times

At the Castro de El Castelón, archaeological remains are accompanied by a carefully qualified account of its history. Its foundation is probably dated to the Iron Age, between the 4th and 1st centuries BC. It is thought to have remained in use into the Roman period, during the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. Visible features include fortifications, a ditch, walls up to four metres high and the ruins of buildings in the upper part of the settlement. As access conditions may change, it is advisable to check them before visiting.

The Dolmen de Entrerríos also reaches far back in time: this Neolithic communal tomb dates from the 4th to 3rd millennium BC and belongs to a necropolis with five burial mounds. It is associated with the burial practices of the first farming communities. The dolmen can be visited free of charge and is accessible on foot from the San Roque area or from Navedo. The Senda Área Recreativa de San Roque–Dolmen de Entrerríos is a 7.1-kilometre circular route with 190 metres of ascent.

San Esteban de los Buitres is shaped by a different kind of historic architecture. This ethnographic complex is protected as an Asset of Cultural Interest. The houses are built in tiers on the rocky slope and connected by raised passageways known as veiriles. These passageways give the village a distinctive architectural feature: they link the houses above the slope, rather than making the settlement appear simply as a row of separate façades.

Churches, a palace and distinctive details

Two different details in the Iglesia parroquial de Nuestra Señora de Bullaso reveal aspects of art history. An inscription in Visigothic letters, dating from the 8th to 10th centuries, is arranged in a circle around a central cross. The main altarpiece dates from the 17th century and represents popular Asturian Baroque. The Iglesia de Santa Leocadia de Illano houses a Gothic figure of Saint John, dated to the 14th or 15th century.

The Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Pastur was built in 1665 in Pastur, a small village of the same name a few kilometres from Illano, the municipal capital. Inside, a popular Baroque altarpiece and several 17th-century sculptures have been preserved, along with a dressed statue of the Virgin of Pastur from the 18th century. The Palacio de Monjardín, in turn, brings together architecture and building history: it was built between the late 16th and early 17th centuries, remodelled in the 18th century and declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in 2013. Its porticoed courtyard is supported by columns; the main façade features a central section between two three-storey towers.

The Couso de los Lobos de Bustelo also tells of a distinctive building method. This circular wolf trap is made of slate masonry; its walls are about one metre thick and two to three metres high. A footpath leads to it from a signposted turn-off near the village, following a woodland track downhill.

Views over the Navia and routes through the surrounding area

The miradores each offer a different perspective. From the Mirador de San Esteban de los Buitres, the view extends across the Navia valley, its deep rocky gorge and the villages on the eastern slope of the Illano municipality. The Mirador de Tiracais can be reached on foot from Llombatín and offers views of the river’s meanders. The Mirador de Folgueiróu provides a broad panorama of a landscape shaped by nature and human activity.

The Mirador de Folgueiróu is accessible via the AS-12 regional road and the Área Recreativa de Folgueiróu; it is two kilometres north of Illano. The Área Recreativa is also the starting point for the Ruta del Puente Colgante, on the AS-12 in the municipality of Illano. Check the local signs for the starting point. The facilities include a bar-restaurant, a children’s area, a bowling lane, a football pitch, a clay pigeon shooting range, picnic areas, a municipal swimming pool and a tourist information office. The bar-restaurant’s seasonal opening may vary.

The landscape also includes places with designated natural or regional significance. The Tejo de Pastur has been designated a Natural Monument in Illano by the Government of Asturias. The Alcornocales de Navia area covers Allande, Illano and Pesoz and features stands of cork oak and oak. The Braña de San Roque preserves traditional livestock huts and enclosures; some agricultural activity, including livestock farming, continues there. A culinary speciality of the municipalities along the Navia is the venera, an almond-and-egg cake.

Discover more destinations: Cedemonio, Siero, Parque Histórico Del Navia, Coaña, Santa Eulalia De Oscos, San Martín De Oscos, Quirós, Grandas De Salime.

For the full travel overview: Asturias.