Grado → Salas

The route climbs steeply to the Alto del Fresno, where the Santuario de Nuestra Senora del Fresno and a large stone crucero offer panoramic views over the surrounding valleys. The descent drops into the valley of the Rio Narcea, passing through small Asturian parishes.

At Cornellana, the magnificent Monasterio de San Salvador is a UNESCO World Heritage Site founded in 1024 by Infanta Cristina, daughter of King Bermudo II of Leon. The Romanesque-Baroque monastery sits at the confluence of the rivers Narcea and Nonaya. The town's name may derive from a Roman villa whose owner was called Cornelius. Look for the osa (she-bear) carved on the monastery and ask about her legend.

From Cornellana, the path follows the Rio Nonaya upstream through beautiful woodland via Sobrerriba and Quintana de Villazon (with its church of Santiago) to Salas, a declared Conjunto Historico Artistico. The Colegiata de Santa Maria la Mayor contains the alabaster mausoleum of Fernando Valdes Salas, Archbishop of Seville, Grand Inquisitor, and founder of the University of Oviedo, sculpted by Pompeyo Leoni.