Via de la Plata - Santovenia de Esla
- Route Data
- Ascent slope
- 714 m.
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- Following
Separating Granja de Moreruela and Santovenia are Villafáfila Lagoons, a magnificent natural space that has been declared a Nature Reserve. Stretching out over more than 32,000 hectares it is one of the most important winter refuges for birds in the Iberian Peninsula, second only to the Guadalquivir wetlands.
Pilgrims make their way along the Cañada Real transhumance route, set apart from road traffic, which leads them to this town nestling on a hillside overlooking the spectacular Esla Valley. The river has shaped this setting and its waters bring prosperity to these drylands. The town is long and thin and the parish church is one of the most noteworthy buildings. Water played an important part in town life, with the washing place and fountain, which was really a kind of trough where the mules that passed through the town during the 1940s and 1950s would stop to drink. The fountain has three spouts. Close by visitors can admire the remains of various Prehistoric, Roman, Visigoth and medieval temples.
