Valmeo Among Churches, Forges and Waterfalls

In Valmeo, the parish church stands on a hill in the Barrio de la Iglesia district, overlooking the village. The church has a single nave divided into two sections.

Culture and History

At Nuestra Señora de la O, the chancel with its pointed barrel vault and the triumphal arch are both pointed. The feast calendar lists 18 December for Nuestra Señora de la O. The Ermita de San Andrés has a rectangular floor plan, buttresses at the two corners of the entrance wall and a large round arch. It stands beside the road to Porcieda.

The Valmeo–Porcieda–Tudes hiking route starts in the Barrio de San Andrés district, beside the former Ermita de San Andrés. The same district is also home to two forge buildings; there are also the ruins of a third forge. According to oral tradition, a factory for repairing cannons operated at the site of the demolished forge in 1810 during the War of Independence.

The Casona de los Colmenares is a manor house decorated with coats of arms. It is said to have had a primarily defensive function since the Middle Ages; loopholes in its structure still point to this today. Sebastián de Colmenares was associated with the Casona de los Colmenares and was born in 1620. Orujo Mariano Camacho is listed in Valmeo.

Hiking Trails and Landscape

The Valmeo–Porcieda–Tudes route climbs through strawberry trees, ash trees and holm oaks to a scree field between the rocks. The trail then continues through meadows, with views back over the valley where Valmeo is located. The varied landscapes give each section of the route its own character, without the route being defined by a single motif.

Water and Forest

The Cascadas de Retumbia route is considered a five-hour, 10.5 km hike of moderate difficulty with 520 m of elevation gain. This short, partly steep circular hike begins in the original village of Valmeo and follows a shaded path to several small waterfalls in a side valley of the Quiviesa River. The ascent leads through a mountain forest with lush vegetation and past old chestnut trees.

The Retumbia valley can be reached by crossing the river via one of two bridges; dense vegetation grows close to the water there. Duration, distance, elevation gain and trail character can be considered side by side when planning your own excursion.

For holiday apartments in Valmeo, travel dates, room category and cancellation conditions can be viewed side by side on the respective property pages. The period, room layout and conditions for making changes thus provide three separate points of reference for personal planning. Which detail is particularly important can be determined from your own travel plans, without the choice of accommodation distracting from the different aspects of the village. The weighting remains an individual choice.

Other places: Reocín, Villaescusa, Mazcuerras, Herrera De Ibio, Gibaja, Santa María De Cayón, Saro, Revelillas

To the overarching travel overview: Cantabria.