San Martín de Oscos, Asturias: municipality guide
San Martín de Oscos is a municipality in the far west of Asturias, in the Los Oscos comarca (Eo-Navia), where time seems to have stood still. Its capital is San Martín de Oscos (Samartín in Eonavian). With 337 inhabitants and 66.56 km², it is one of the least populated municipalities in the region: a land of gentle valleys, forests and hamlets, ideal for hiking and the contemplative life.
What to see in San Martín de Oscos
The Palacio de Mon, with its grand scale and impressive noble coat of arms, is the great heritage landmark of the municipality, with a route running around it. In the capital, the parish church and the Guzmanes house speak of a stately past that contrasts with the simplicity of the stone-and-slate hamlets.
In Villarquille, the Casa del Marco —museum of the peasant house— shows how the farmers of the most remote west lived well into the 20th century: a perfect metaphor for this territory that Turismo Asturias describes as «designed for ethnographic science», able to satisfy travellers who want to journey into the past.
With its rivers and streams, its springs and the colour of its forests in autumn, San Martín de Oscos is an ideal place for hiking, with affordable routes among gentle mountains. The Mazo de Mon route, with views from Revoqueira at the start of the trail, is one of the best known in the municipality.
The municipality forms part of the Los Oscos comarca together with Santa Eulalia and Villanueva de Oscos, a territory of strong identity where Eonavian is spoken —here the capital is called Samartín—. Its four parishes preserve an almost intact rural landscape, with hamlets such as Mon, Villarquille and Ron that seem frozen in time and a network of paths ideal for wandering unhurriedly.
Getting there
The road network revolves around the regional AS-11 road, which enters from Vegadeo through the Puerto de la Garganta towards Pesoz. The municipality borders Illano, Grandas de Salime and Pesoz, and Santa Eulalia and Villanueva de Oscos, with which it forms the Los Oscos comarca.
Map of the municipality of San Martín de Oscos: the capital, in gold. Data © OpenStreetMap (ODbL).
Festivals and gastronomy
Hospitality and grandmothers’ cooking are, according to Turismo Asturias, two of the great attractions of the municipality, along with the tranquillity of its hamlets and the beauty of its autumn landscapes. Autumn is perhaps the best time to visit: the forests turn ochre and red, chestnuts and mushrooms reach the table and the trails empty of people.
Municipality data
Coat of arms: Wikimedia Commons / Erlenmeyer (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Capital: San Martín de Oscos
- Population: 337 inhabitants (INE 2025)
- Area: 66.56 km²
- Zone: Western
- Town Council: Plaza de las Infantas, s/n, 33777 San Martín de Oscos. Tel. +34 985 62 60 00
Neighbouring municipalities
Useful links
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View on the interactive map: The 78 municipalities of Asturias
