The best mountain village in Spain according to travel experts: it’s not in the Pyrenees
Determining Spain’s most beautiful village, whether along the coast or in the mountains, is no easy endeavour. Many places certainly deserve acclaim and as the adage goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
However, the aggregate of opinions received from Fascinating Spain’s Facebook survey inquiring into Spain’s best mountain village offers an insight into the general consensus. And the result is likely to surprise some people.
Plenty of candidates reaching the summit
The mountains and valleys of Galicia, Cantabria, Andalusia and the Pyrenees are all nominated by many of those who travel Spain extensively.
While the villages of Aínsa or Albarracín, both in Aragón, usually occupy the top spots of most rankings, on this occasion, other veritable hamlets set in singular landscapes are in the spotlight.
Dead heat for third place
One village in Cantabria and another in Galicia, both in northwestern Spain, share the honour of the bronze medal in the ranking. The silver award, meanwhile, goes to a beautiful Pyrenean village in the province of Huesca.
Shrouded among the peaks and valleys of the eastern massif of the Picos de Europa in Cantabria, Tanarrio is known for its cork tree forest where a monastery and hermitage dedicated to Saint Facundo once stood.
The village of O Cebreiro, in Galicia, marks the gateway into the province along the French Way of the Camino de Santiago. Its distinctive prehistoric traditional dwellings, called pallozas, and the silhouette of the Church of Santa María la Real mixed with tales of Galician folklore are the customary welcome for pilgrims passing along the Camino de Santiago.
Silver medal custodian of the Pyrenees
Second place goes to Torla-Ordesa, sitting on the threshold of the Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park, in the Pyrenees of the province of Huesca. Its cobblestoned streets and slate-roofed dwellings, together with the babbling Ara River and mountain peak panoramas, captivate the traveller. The sixteenth-century Church of San Salvador, the ruins of its ancient castle and the main square comprise an extraordinary historic and architectonic setting.
Spain’s best mountain village?
Cantabria seems to be a clear regional winner, appearing not only in third place, but also earning the title of Spain’s best-rated mountain village.
Nestled at the confluence of four valleys in the region of Liébana, the choice of Potes is no fluke. Its old medieval town centre, crossed by the Deva and Quiviesa Rivers, is a labyrinth of bridges, stone homes and narrow streets, where the Infantado Tower and the Church of San Vicente stand out among cozy café terraces.
Potes is also the starting point for various trekking routes into the Picos de Europa mountain range, including the cable car of Fuente Dé and the must-see Monastery of Santo Toribio de Liébana. The spectacular village of Potes is the clear winner among Fascinating Spain’s community of travelling connoisseurs.
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