Sanzo – Tradition, Trails and Landscape

One of Sanzo’s distinctive cultural features is Quema dos Antroiros. It takes place on Shrove Tuesday: the inhabitants make two large figures from straw, old clothes and old shoes and burn them. Sanzo also preserves parts of its traditional rural structure.

Culture

The “Necrópolis Tumular de El Coto” burial mound necropolis is located in Sanzo. The Roman mining site “Minería Romana de Penafurada” is also located in Sanzo.

A Paicega is a former workers’ settlement dating from the mid-20th century, built to house the workers involved in constructing the Grandas de Salime reservoir. Former barracks converted into housing, the church dedicated to the Virgen de La Luz and remains of the cableway have been preserved in A Paicega.

For a visit, local history, archaeology and the traces of the former settlement can be considered side by side as different thematic focuses.

Nature and Trails

The PR-AS 169 route is 7.82 km long, belongs to the “Familias” category and is designed as an out-and-back route from Pezós/Pesoz to A Paicega. It connects Pezós/Pesoz with the former workers’ settlement of A Paicega; along the route, one section follows a lightly trafficked local road to the village of Sanzo.

The ascent on the route to Sanzo passes through dense chestnut and birch woodland. From Sanzo, the route follows a level, well-maintained track to the former workers’ settlement of A Paicega.

In 2025, a 1,320-metre section of path between Sanzo and A Paicega was repaired, providing access to the viewpoint at the reservoir. When planning your own outing, you can weigh the route length, out-and-back format, trail surface and wooded ascent separately.

Landscape

The Mirador de A Paicega is located in the lower part of A Paicega; from there, it offers sweeping views of the canyon of the River Navia and the surrounding mountain landscape. From Sanzo, there are unobstructed views across the valley. When planning your own day, you can distinguish between a named viewpoint and open views of the valley.

When choosing a holiday apartment in Sanzo, you can compare travel dates, room category and cancellation conditions on accommodation listings. These three details structure your personal planning; trails, cultural sites and viewpoints can be kept as separate focuses side by side.

Further exploration also includes Argul.

Architecture

The Capilla de San Juan Bautista in Sanzo is an 18th-century chapel in the vernacular style. Its rectangular floor plan includes a flat-ended chancel and a square altar area; it also has a wooden entrance porch and a bell gable with a round arch and decorative finials. Access to the Capilla de San Juan Bautista is rated as easy.

For the higher-level travel overview: Pesoz.