The best family-friendly hikes and walks around Embalse de Los Barrios de Luna

A small mountain village in the Babia region, nestled among tall pastures and gentle hills. With a strong livestock tradition, stone architecture, and a landscape that blends wide meadows with access to mountain passes and high pastures, it's a common stop on routes to the Ubiñas mountains and along trails connecting mountain passes and refuges. It retains the typical atmosphere of Babia villages: low houses, old farmyards, and almost constant silence. A good place to start or finish mountain hikes, offering pristine scenery and a sense of seclusion in the valley.

In 1926, the Mieres Town Council purchased the pastures in the area for its livestock, building Casa Mieres there as a refuge for shepherds and a support point in the high mountain passes. Years later, during the Civil War, the surrounding area was filled with parapets, trenches, and small defensive posts due to its strategic position between valleys. The contrast between the peaceful life of the shepherds and the militarized landscape left traces that can still be discerned in the nearby hills: low walls, cuts in the rock, and remnants of old positions. It is a place where the current silence coexists with stories of hard work, swift fogs, and guarded passes.

San Emiliano is the capital of the Babia region in León, a small town surrounded by mountains and meadows where you can breathe the essence of rural León life. Its stone houses, church, and natural surroundings make it an ideal starting point for exploring Babia's protected landscapes.

Spectacular with views of paradise

Very nice area

San Emiliano is a quiet cattle-raising village in the Babia de Yuso at the foot of the imposing mass of the Peña Ubiña massif. The town has all the services and is the starting point we have chosen to begin the climb towards Puerto de la Ventana. In autumn the days are short and we start early, the first rays of the sun barely lighting up the crest of Peña Ubiña. In Torrebarrio we continue along a dirt cattle track to finish warming up our legs and begin the climb towards the border of Asturias along the path of the old Ventana or Santa Fe coal mine. The track has a good surface and the climb is quiet until the Cuspasante sheepfold, passing near the Roguera cabins and beginning the mine slope. The mining operation was inland, the buildings are in ruins, there are remains of the exploitation and enormous slopes of the waste dumps, one of them is at the end of the climb, at the foot of the Peñón de Ventana, and is a panoramic viewpoint of the valley of San Emiliano and a large part of Babia.

Casa Mieres is a refuge for shepherds and ranchers located almost on the border between the communities of Castilla y León and Asturias, at 1,545 meters above sea level. It can be accessed by a track in good condition from the Cubilla port and by trails from San Emiliano. Until 2015 it also functioned as a hotel establishment, but a dispute between the Mieres town council and the administrators of the natural park keeps it closed while a solution is negotiated. Currently (December 2023) it is still closed to the public.

Candemuela is a village belonging to the municipality of San Emiliano, in the Leonese region of Babia, in the autonomous community of Castilla y León. It is located on the left bank of the Orugo River and its most important heritage is the church of Santiago Apóstol de Candemuela, erected in 1725 by an Indian from the town. It is one of the best examples of Babian baroque art. It has a Latin cross plan and a baroque style altarpiece.