Logbook · 4 places

What to see and do in Cuevas del Valle

What to see and do in Cuevas del Valle (Arenas de San Pedro, Ávila): 4 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 1 Monuments · 1 Nature · 1 Curiosities

Towns near Cuevas del Valle

Spain › Castile and León › Ávila › Arenas de San Pedro › Cuevas del Valle

What to see and do in Cuevas del Valle

Cuevas del Valle
Village
Cuevas del Valle is a settlement of about 506 inhabitants in the comarca of the Tiétar valley, in Ávila, situated at 848 metres above sea level in the heart of the sierra de Gredos, on the banks of the Posaderas river; it broke away from Mombeltrán through a town charter granted by Charles II on 27 July 1695. It preserves a restored Roman road, the Plaza Vieja, with fifty metres of arcades, and a curious square bullring assembled from timber for the festivals. Maritime pine dominates the surrounding slopes, alongside chestnut, fig and olive trees, and the village hosts the headquarters of the Sociedad Micológica Amagredos, which organises its Mycological Days in autumn; mild summers also favour a notable rural tourism.
The Roman road of the Puerto del Pico
Monument
The Puerto del Pico causeway climbs in zigzags up the southern slope of the Puerto del Pico pass, in the Sierra de Gredos, between the municipality of Cuevas del Valle and the pass itself, with a cobbled surface in overlapping layers and a width of between 5.5 and 8.5 metres. The pass, at 1,395 metres above sea level, links the Tiétar valley with the Alberche valley and was once part of a route between Santiago de Compostela and Seville, already described around 1380 in the Bruges itinerary; today it is a crossing point on the Cañada Real Leonesa Occidental. Despite the tradition attributing it to Roman times, current studies consider that dating incorrect. It was restored in 1998 with European funds.
The resin pine forest of Cuevas del Valle
Nature
Maritime pine dominates the slopes of the district, which starts at 630 metres on the river Posaderas and reaches 1,983 metres at its highest point. In between, chestnuts, olives, figs and walnuts still weigh in the local economy.
The Moorish Tombs of Las Morañegas
Curiosity
Beside the course of the road over the Puerto del Pico a group of graves cut into the rock is preserved, attributed to the Christian period between the 10th and 13th centuries, despite the popular name that links them to the Moors.