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What to see and do in Pomar de Valdivia

What to see and do in Pomar de Valdivia (Montaña Palentina, Palencia): 6 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 3 Nature · 1 Curiosities · 1 Historical milestones

How far each place is from the centre of Pomar de Valdivia

Towns near Pomar de Valdivia

Spain › Castile and León › Palencia › Montaña Palentina › Pomar de Valdivia

What to see and do in Pomar de Valdivia

Pomar de Valdivia
Village
Pomar de Valdivia is a municipality in the La Valdivia area, in the Montaña of Palencia province, whose territory gathers fourteen hamlets, among them Báscones de Valdivia, Camesa de Valdivia, Helecha de Valdivia, Porquera de los Infantes, Quintanilla de las Torres, Rebolledo de la Inera, Respenda de Aguilar, Revilla de Pomar, Villaescusa de las Torres, Villallano and Villarén de Valdivia, besides the capital. Two of them, Cezura and Lastrilla, are enclaves of Palencia province surrounded by the Cantabrian municipality of Valderredible. Since 2017 its limestone moorland has been part of the Las Loras Geopark, the first geopark recognised by Unesco in Castile and León. It stands at 963 metres above sea level and has 488 inhabitants.
Cave of los Franceses
Nature
The Cave of the French, in the district of Revilla de Pomar, owes its name to the bodies of French soldiers left inside it after they died in a clash with a detachment of Cantabrian hussars under General Porlier during the War of Independence of 1808. Adapted for tourist visits for more than twenty years, in 2009 the Diputación (provincial council) of Palencia opened a visitor reception pavilion with an audiovisual exhibition about the cave and its surroundings, the Páramo de La Lora. Near the cave several menhirs are preserved, among them the Canto Hito menhir, still standing, and 1,500 metres away lies the Valcabado viewpoint, from which the Valderredible valley can be seen in its entirety. The cave is part of the Geopark of Las Loras, designated by Unesco in 2017.
The Frenchmen who gave the cave its name
Historical milestone
The cave owes its name to the fact that it served as a refuge for French combatants during the Peninsular War that began in 1808; the popular place name ended up prevailing over any geological designation.
Las Tuerces
Nature
A protected natural area in Palencia, located in the westernmost foothills of the Páramos de La Lora, where the relief of the Cantabrian Mountains meets the sedimentary material of the Duero basin. It is a labyrinth of Upper Cretaceous limestone shaped by karst dissolution into alleys, mushroom-like formations and arches, next to the La Horadada gorge; it is one of the most spectacular reliefs among the hanging synclines, or loras, of northern Palencia. Erosion has also created the nearby La Horadada canyon, nicknamed the Spanish Colorado, which can be admired in full from Monte Cildá.
Covalagua
Nature
Covalagua is a protected natural area in the municipality of Revilla de Pomar, with an area of 2,860 hectares designated in 1992. The Junta de Castilla y León (regional government) justified its protection as an excellent example of karst formation, gathering most of the phenomena typical of this type of relief: on the surface of the páramo lies the Cave of the French, the only one open to visitors in the province of Palencia, along with other highly valuable features such as the Pozo de los Lobos and the Canto Hito menhir. Situated at the foot of the Lora de Valdivia, the site also collects water that filters through the limestone páramo, which surfaces in springs and streams, and together with Las Tuerces forms a protected natural area.
Las Loras UNESCO Global Geopark
Curiosity
Spread between Palencia and Burgos, it was recognised in 2017 as the eleventh UNESCO Global Geopark in Spain; Las Tuerces, Covalagua and the Cueva de los Franceses are among its most visited geosites.