KARST Centre of the Las Loras Geopark

The loras are limestone plateaux cut by canyons south of Aguilar, and since 2017 they have formed the Las Loras UNESCO Global Geopark, between Palencia and Burgos. The KARST centre, in Aguilar, is the new Park House (Casa del Parque) that the Junta de Castilla y León opened in autumn 2026 to explain these landscapes: how the rock labyrinths of Las Tuerces and the Covalagua waterfall were formed, and what makes them special enough to be protected. It is a short, cheap visit that makes the rest of the region much easier to understand.

What it explains

The centre works as an interpretation space for the karst landscapes of the Montaña Palentina, those shaped by water dissolving limestone. Las Tuerces is a protected landscape and natural monument: a heavily eroded limestone surface, with a labyrinth of corridors and narrow alleys between blocks of rock, stone mushrooms, natural bridges and arches. Covalagua, in Pomar de Valdivia, at the source of the river Ivia, has its own protection status as a protected landscape and natural monument of the waterfall. The centre also serves as a gateway to the geopark, which brings together these and other places of geological interest in the area.

Allow about 45 minutes. It is a good first stop if you are spending a weekend in Aguilar and want to head out into the countryside, and also a useful plan with children on a rainy day.

Opening hours and entry

According to the resource sheet from the Junta's tourist office in Palencia, updated in early November 2026, from 16 October to 31 December it opens on Fridays and Saturdays from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 16:00 to 18:00, and on Sunday from 10:00 to 14:00; it closes on 25 December. Monday to Thursday it does not open in this period. Entry costs €1. Phone: 659 04 67 47. That sheet only publishes the hours up to 31 December; for 2027, ask at the Aguilar tourist office.

After the centre: Las Tuerces and the surroundings

The natural next step is to head from here to Las Tuerces. The most usual access is from Villaescusa de las Torres, in the municipality of Pomar de Valdivia, from where a 3.3 km circular route runs along the river Pisuerga, of medium difficulty, taking a little over an hour. From Olleros de Pisuerga you reach the La Horadada canyon, cut by the Pisuerga, and the Monte Cildá viewpoint, with the remains of a pre-Roman settlement and a Roman fortress. Wear walking footwear: the labyrinth is rocky ground.

In Olleros there is also the rock-cut hermitage of Santos Justo y Pastor, dug into the crag, and a few kilometres further down, Santa María de Mave. In Aguilar itself you can carry on with the castle and old quarter or the monastery of Santa María la Real. For lunch after the walk, the Valentín restaurant is in the centre of the town.