Logbook · 5 places

What to see and do in La Pernía

What to see and do in La Pernía (Montaña Palentina, Palencia): 5 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 1 Monuments · 1 Nature · 1 Activities · 1 Curiosities

How far each place is from the centre of La Pernía

Towns near La Pernía

What to see in Polentinos 3.7 km · 3 places
What to see in Cervera de Pisuerga 11 km · 7 places
What to see in San Cebrián de Mudá 12 km · 4 places
What to see in Pesaguero 13 km · 5 places
What to see in Mudá 13 km · 2 places
What to see in Triollo 16 km · 3 places
What to see in Brañosera 16 km · 3 places
What to see in Salinas de Pisuerga 16 km · 4 places

Spain › Castile and León › Palencia › Montaña Palentina › La Pernía

What to see and do in La Pernía

La Pernía
Village
La Pernía, at 1,180 metres below Peña Labra, is the northernmost municipality of Palencia and was born from the 1976 merger of the former municipalities of Lores, Redondo-Areños and San Salvador de Cantamuda, today its capital. It gathers hamlets such as Camasobres, Casavegas, near the passes of Pineda and La Liébana, or Piedrasluengas, the highest village in northern Palencia, as well as Lebanza, where its old abbey stands. The name Pernía originally denoted the whole area now called Montaña Palentina, and narrowed over time to these valleys, which in the 12th century formed the County of Pernía, established by Alfonso VIII under the protection of the bishops of Palencia until Luis de Pernía claimed it in 1739. With about 300 inhabitants, San Salvador preserves a Romanesque collegiate church.
Collegiate Church of San Salvador de Cantamuda
Monument
Built between the 12th and 13th centuries beside the Pisuerga, in San Salvador de Cantamuda, the seat of the municipality of La Pernía, it has a Latin-cross plan with a central nave and two side aisles, narrow windows, arrow slits and a cornice supported by numerous corbels. The village grew up around this collegiate church, founded by the Countess of Castile María Elvira, wife of Count Rodrigo Guntis and niece of Ferdinand I, who was buried in it and under whose royal patronage it remained until Alfonso VII handed it over to the bishops of Palencia in 1123; the present building dates from 1185, when Alfonso VIII created the county of Pernía in favour of Bishop Raimundo. It was declared a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection) on 4 February 1993.
Bell-gable of San Salvador de Cantamuda
Curiosity
The collegiate church of San Salvador, in San Salvador de Cantamuda (La Pernía), was founded by Countess María Elvira, niece of Ferdinand I, who was buried in it; it belonged to the royal patronage until Alfonso VII handed it over to the bishops of Palencia in 1123. The present building, from the late 12th or early 13th century, stands free-standing among meadows to the south of the hamlet. Its west façade, the most photogenic part of the complex, ends in the bell-wall: two superimposed tiers, each with a double bell opening, with a triangular top, which many scholars consider the most beautiful in all Spanish Romanesque and which has become an emblem of the comarca. Declared a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection) in 1993, the church has a Latin-cross plan with a stepped triple-apse chancel.
Fuente Cobre, source of the Pisuerga
Nature
The river Pisuerga springs from the cave of Fuente Cobre, at the head of the valley of La Pernía; the site gives its name to the eastern half of the natural park, whose other half is organised around the Fuentes Carrionas.
Cantabrian Bear House of Verdeña
Activity
An interpretation centre run by the Fundación Oso Pardo in the hamlet of Verdeña, devoted to spreading knowledge of the biology of the Cantabrian bear and to involving the mountain residents in its conservation.