Nela amid canyons, karst and hiking trails

Nela lies on a canyon formed by the Río between Puentedey and Villarcayo. In the south of the Merindad de Sotoscueva are Nela and the Salto de la Mea, a waterfall that appears only during periods of rain and snowmelt. Beneath part of the Merindad de Sotoscueva extends the Ojo Guareña karst complex, with more than 100 km of cave passages as well as prehistoric rock paintings and engravings. Below the Ermita de San Bernabé lies the sinkhole of the Río Guareña; the hermitage is one of the most important entrances to the galleries of Ojo Guareña.

Landscape

The landscape by the water can also be experienced in concrete terms: trout, barbel and signal crayfish live in the Río Nela; otters also hunt these animals. The path to the Cascada de La Mea leads through a limestone gorge with rocky cliffs that provide a habitat for numerous cliff-dwelling birds of prey. The Casa del Parque “Ojo Guareña” offers information for planning a visit to the Ojo Guareña natural monument and has a viewpoint with binoculars and information panels for observing the landscape.

Hiking

Around Nela, walks and bike rides are possible in the mountains, forests and along rivers and waterfalls. The PRC-BU-31 El Valle circular route is 9.8 km long, has 216 m of elevation gain and is rated easy. The PRC-BU-36 Cascada de La Mea linear route is 0.73 km long as a round trip and has 38 m of elevation gain. The Sendero de Sotoscueva is a moderately difficult 18.29 km route connecting the public visitor facilities of Ojo Guareña. It leads to the Museo Etnográfico de Sotoscueva, the Necropolis of San Felices, the rock chapel Ermita de San Tirso y San Bernabé and Cueva Palomera. On its section through the province of Burgos between San Pantaleón de Losa and Corconte, the historic long-distance GR-1 trail passes by the gates of Manzanela. The different lengths, elevation gains and difficulty levels can be compared directly.

These details can be compared directly when planning your own day: the two PRC routes, the Sendero de Sotoscueva and the GR-1 represent different types of routes. Length, elevation gain, difficulty level and the respective course provide objective criteria for distinguishing between short outings, longer trails or a combination of several visitor facilities.

Other places in this overview are Cabanas de Virtus, Ahedo del Butrón, Zazuar, Salazar, Jurisdicción De Lara, Medina de Pomar, La Puebla De Arganzón and Puentedura.

Culture

At the summit of El Castro, visible remains of a Cantabrian castro have been preserved among meadows and forests, alongside the rocky cliffs bordering the canyon. El Castro is a mountain that can be climbed from Nela. The church porch in Nela contains a mill wheel; the church also has a finely crafted sundial carved in stone.

To the main travel overview: Burgos.