THERE IS a tiny village perched on a mountainside in Asturias’ Picos de Europa national park like a village that time abandoned which is well worth your attention.
With just six permanent residents, San Esteban de Cuñaba holds the distinction of being Spain’s first ever ‘Pueblo Ejemplar’ (Exemplary Village) – an award it won back in 1990 when it still had no telephone service.
The ceremony that October day saw a young Prince Felipe present the inaugural award to a community of barely 100 people living in one of Spain’s most isolated corners.
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Thirty-five years later, the population has crashed to single digits, but the village’s medieval charm remains intact.
Reaching San Esteban de Cuñaba requires commitment. The road from Panes winds through La Hermida gorge – Spain’s longest defile – forcing drivers to crawl along mountain passes for 10 kilometres that feel like 50.
The journey follows the River Deva along the Cantabrian border until a crumbling roadside inn marks the final turn-off.
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Traditional Asturian stone houses line the steep streets, their wooden galleries weathered by centuries of mountain winters.
Visitors planning to stay overnight should book accommodation in nearby Panes or Arenas de Cabrales, as the village itself offers no hotels or restaurants.
The closest proper facilities are back down the mountain in Panes, so bring water and snacks for the journey.
The narrow mountain road is not suitable for large vehicles or caravans, and winter visits require checking weather conditions as snow can block access.
For hiking, the village serves as a gateway to several marked trails into the Picos de Europa, though proper mountain gear is essential given the unpredictable weather at altitude.
The village’s most famous landmark is the preserved trunk of a 400-year-old chestnut tree that died in 1994, kept as a monument to the generations who harvested its nuts.
Mobile phone coverage remains patchy, making this one of Western Europe’s last true disconnection zones.
The silence is broken only by mountain wind, cowbells from high pastures, and the occasional cry of circling eagles.
For hikers, the location offers direct access to the Picos de Europa’s most pristine wilderness.
For everyone else, San Esteban de Cuñaba provides a rare glimpse of pre-industrial Spain, where six determined residents maintain a way of life that has largely vanished elsewhere.
The village’s exemplary status launched an annual tradition that continues today, with Asturian communities still competing for the prestigious award.
But none match the sheer survival story of this mountain outpost, where the medieval world persists against all modern odds.
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