Riosa, Asturias: municipality guide
Riosa is a municipality in the central Asturian mountains, in the Oviedo comarca, known worldwide as the land of L’Angliru, one of the most feared climbs in international cycling. Its capital is La Vega. With 1,712 inhabitants and 46.49 km², it is a municipality of very rugged terrain, straddling the Sierra del Aramo and the valley of the river Llamo, 18 kilometres from Oviedo.
What to see in Riosa
The great star of the municipality is L’Angliru (1,570 m), in the Sierra del Aramo: a legendary climb with ramps exceeding 23% gradient and a Vuelta a España stage finish since 1999. Turismo Asturias describes it as the «Olympus of the Gods of cycling», the land that saw the birth of the «almighty and feared Angliru». Crowning El Gamonal, its summit, is a mandatory pilgrimage for cycling fans from all over the world, and every September thousands of people climb up to cheer on the riders.
The Sierra del Aramo dominates the west of the municipality with peaks such as El Barriscal (1,734 m), El Xistras (1,773 m) and El Gamonal itself: a karst massif of great beauty, ideal for hiking and mountain biking. In its depths, Riosa holds copper and cobalt reserves exploited since prehistoric times: the Texeo mines, with their Roman mine entrance, and the mining village of Rioseco are the finest testimony to that thousand-year history, still visitable today.
The river Llamo —also called Riosa— rises on the slopes of the Aramo and crosses the municipality from south to north until joining the Caudal in Morcín. A water route links the Aramo tunnel with the village of Llamo, among forests and mountain streams. The capital, La Vega, seat of the town council since 1880, concentrates the municipality’s services at 315 metres above sea level.
The municipality, part of the Oviedo comarca, also preserves valuable ethnographic heritage: hórreos dot hamlets such as Felguera and L’Ará, and traditional stone-and-wood architecture remains alive in La Vega. Its closeness to Oviedo —barely 18 kilometres— makes Riosa a perfect day trip combining sport, nature and mining history.
Getting there
Riosa lies 18 kilometres from Oviedo, by mountain road through the valley. The most common access is from the Asturian capital towards Morcín, and the municipality is well connected with its neighbours Mieres and Quirós by local roads.
Map of the municipality of Riosa: the capital, in gold. Data © OpenStreetMap (ODbL).
Festivals and gastronomy
The weekly Tuesday market in L’Ará is the municipality’s fixed date. On the table, the products of the central mountains rule: traditional Asturian cuisine, with natural cider as the essential accompaniment, and beef from the livestock of the Aramo meadows.
Municipality data
Coat of arms: Wikimedia Commons / Manuelfb55 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Capital: La Vega
- Population: 1,712 inhabitants (INE 2024)
- Area: 46.49 km²
- Zone: Central
- Demonym: riosano, -a
- Town Council: Plaza de la Constitución, 1, 33160 La Vega. Tel. +34 985 76 60 06
Neighbouring municipalities
Useful links
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