Villa offers a distinctive mix of architectural heritage and routes: the Iglesia de San Juan is the town’s parish church, while the Senda del Agua follows the Narcea Canal and other routes have their own profiles. For your planning, it is worth treating hiking and cycling as separate activities rather than grouping them under a single route name. If you are looking for a holiday apartment in Villa, you can weigh up culture, hiking and cycling as different focuses for your stay.
Church and ethnographic connections
The Iglesia de San Juan de Villa is a parish church in Villa. Its distinctive architectural features include a single-nave main body, a rectangular vaulted apse, a tower at the western end and side chapels. The term “single-nave” refers to a single main space; the side chapels extend it laterally. An apse is the architectural end of a church interior; here, it is rectangular and vaulted. Villa is also one of the parishes of Corvera with significant ethnographic heritage. This connection adds a second cultural perspective on the town alongside its parish church.
The linear Senda del Agua
The Senda del Agua (PR-AS 049) follows the course of the Narcea Canal and is a linear route. It is 23.5 kilometres long in total; 7.430 kilometres of it run along paths and roads through Molleda and Villa in Corvera. The route follows the canal past Fabar, Barreiro, El Truébano and La Llaguna; an overflow and a siphon can be seen along the way. Its linear format distinguishes it from a circular route, while the place names and technical features provide specific landmarks along the way.
Hiking the Ruta Villa
The Ruta Villa can be understood as a hiking route by its course and estimated duration. It leads to Entrialgo, to the section of the Ruta del Agua along the Narcea Canal, then continues to El Fabar and El Truébano, and onwards towards Tras La Iglesia. The 13-kilometre walking route is estimated to take around four hours. Treat this duration as an estimate; it is advisable to check the current condition of the route before setting out. Compared with the 23.5-kilometre Senda, the Ruta Villa is the shorter of the two routes and is also assigned an approximate walking time.
Cycling routes with similar names
When cycling, too, using the full route names helps avoid confusion. The Ruta del Agua for cyclists goes as far as El Fondu Villa and then follows the AS-319 to the section of the Senda del Agua that runs parallel to the canal supplying the Trasona reservoir. By contrast, the Ruta del Agua de Corvera is a very easy, family-friendly circular cycling route. Those looking for a circular route will find one in the Ruta del Agua de Corvera; the Senda del Agua, by contrast, is linear.
Discover more destinations: Premio, Boal, Escobal, Comarca del Nora, Tresano, El Cuadro, Villademoros, Pimiango.
For the broader travel guide: Asturias.
