Corro: Caves, Necropolis and Cultural Heritage

The artificial caves of Corro are among the particularly interesting surviving historical remains in the municipality of Valdegovía. In Corro, the Molino de Solapeña mill is listed in the General Inventory of Basque Cultural Heritage as a cultural asset in the Monument category.

Culture

The Santa Olalla and Santa Lucía necropolis in Corro is of early medieval origin. It comprises around thirty anthropomorphic graves carved into the rock.

An open portico is attached to the wall of the Church of San Miguel in Corro. This portico was built in 1886. Access to the Church of San Miguel in Corro is via a steep staircase.

A fountain-and-trough ensemble in Corro bears the inscribed date 1887.

An information sign marks the Santa Lucía-Santa Olalla necropolis. A broad access path leads to it. This path has a rustic but effective boundary made of pieces of tree trunks.

Corro thus brings together various forms of cultural heritage: artificial caves, an early medieval necropolis, the Church of San Miguel with its portico, the fountain-and-trough ensemble, and the Molino de Solapeña mill, which is listed as a Monument. The historical points of reference range from the early Middle Ages through the portico built in 1886 to the date 1887 on the fountain-and-trough ensemble.

Cave Routes

In the Valdegovía Valley, the GR 1 forms a 10 km linear route to the up to 16 hermit caves in the area. These include the caves of Villanueva de Valdegovía, Tobillas, Corro and Pinedo.

A shorter, 5 km linear section leads to the caves of Pinedo, Corro and Tobillas. The three place names identify the destinations of this explicitly shorter section.

Another cave route in Valdegovía leads to the surviving artificial caves in San Martín de Valparaíso, Corro, Pinedo and Tobillas. In addition to Corro, the route includes San Martín de Valparaíso as another named cave destination.

Another option is to drive to the individual villages and then continue on foot from there to the respective caves. In this option, the drive to the villages and the subsequent walk to the respective caves are explicitly combined.

Corro is named multiple times as a destination on the described cave routes: on the 10 km GR 1 route together with Villanueva de Valdegovía, Tobillas and Pinedo, on the 5 km section with Pinedo and Tobillas, and on the route with San Martín de Valparaíso, Pinedo and Tobillas.

Getting There

The Santa Lucía-Santa Olalla necropolis can be reached via the A-2622 road from Villanueva de Valdegovía towards Bóveda. It is located on the right-hand side approximately 150 metres before the turn-off to Corro.

The car can be parked near some rubbish containers.

For a stay in Corro, a holiday apartment can be included in your own travel plans, while the information on the village, routes and access roads can assist with further preparations for your stay.

Other Places

Other places: Ibarguren, Abornikano, Guereña, Apodaka, Laguardia, Legutio, Samaniego, Lezama

To the higher-level travel overview: Alava.