Aller, Asturias: municipality guide

Aller is a municipality in central Asturias, in the Caudal comarca. Its capital has been Cabañaquinta since 1869. With just over 10,000 inhabitants, it combines high mountain landscapes —with the San Isidro pass— and an important mining past.

The municipality of Aller highlighted in blue (central Asturias) on the map of Asturias

What to see in Aller

The San Isidro pass, at 1,520 metres, marks the border between Asturias and León. Beyond Cabañaquinta, the valley gradually turns into a high mountain landscape culminating in the pass, home to its ski resort. The village of Felechosa, 13 km from the top, has grown in recent years thanks to snow and mountain tourism.

The Pino and Aller gorges, declared natural monuments. These are deep gorges carved by the rivers into mountain limestone, among the municipality’s most outstanding natural beauties, ideal for hiking.

The Xurbeo waterfall, in Murias, one of the best-known waterfalls in the municipality, set in riverside woodland.

The church of Santa María de Pelúgano, a rural temple in the parish of Pelúgano, an example of the religious heritage of the middle valley.

The church of San Vicente de Serrapio, 12th-century Romanesque, preserving its stylistic purity in the tripartite apse. Its earliest structure is Roman —it keeps a stone dedicated to Jupiter in the sacristy— and it stands on a viewpoint overlooking the middle Aller valley.

The mining industrial heritage: the San Antonio, San Fernando and Santiago pitheads, with their headframes dominating the landscape, along with stations, bridges and mining villages that tell the story of coal in the Caudal basin. The visit is completed by Soto castle, with its late-medieval tower from the 14th-15th centuries, and the Camino de Santiago Allerano, an old pilgrimage route.

Getting there

The main access is the road that runs along the Aller river valley from the Caudal basin, climbing between mountains to the San Isidro pass (1,520 m), on the border with the province of León. The municipality is organised in three zones —Lower, Middle and Upper Aller— following the course of the river.

The municipality of Aller and its main towns · the capital, Cabañaquinta, in gold

Municipality map: data © OpenStreetMap (ODbL). Own rendering, no Google, no cookies.

Festivals and gastronomy

The main festivals are the Humanitarios de San Martín de Moreda, on 11 November, when pilgrims wear traditional Asturian costume; San Antonio de Piñeres, on the last Sunday of August; and the Miravalles pilgrimage in Soto, on 8 September. Also well known are El Carmen in El Pino (last weekend of August) and el Carmín in Felechosa (last Monday of August). Cabañaquinta hosts livestock fairs, notably those of All Saints and the Mercaón on 26 November.