Villablino Tourist Office

The Villablino tourist office is the one for the Laciana valley, in the north-west of the province of León, and is at Plaza Sierra Pambley 1, in the centre of the town. It gives information on the whole valley: the Leitariegos ski resort, about 15 km away, walking and cycling routes, the shepherds' brañas, the hill forts, the capercaillie and the bears, as well as accommodation and restaurants.

Opening hours and contact

It is open on Mondays from 8:00 to 15:00; Tuesday to Friday, from 8:00 to 15:00 and from 16:30 to 19:00, and Saturdays from 10:00 to 15:00. It is closed on Sundays, except those in July and August, when it opens from 10:00 to 14:00, as on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday and the public holidays of 6 and 8 December. Phone, 987 48 08 13; email, [email protected]. For municipal matters, the town hall is at Avenida de la Constitución 23 (987 470 001).

What they give you

The municipal website organises tourist information by theme, and the office answers the same in person: rural routes and active tourism, the hill forts of Laciana, bear watching, the Capercaillie Centre, villages and hamlets of the valley, gastronomy and crafts, flora and fauna, and the calendar of festivals, fairs and activities, with the Carrasconte pilgrimage. There is a guide to Villablino's architectural heritage to download and a document on the brañas of Laciana, the old high-altitude shepherds' settlements. The Laciana Turismo app, for Android and iOS, gathers routes and points of interest to carry on your phone, and the website links to the valley's webcams.

If you are going looking for bears, ask here about how to do it without disturbing the animals and about who organises guided outings in the valley: the town council deals with it in its sightings section.

A good place to start

For those who come to ski, the office is useful above all off the pistes: what to do on the afternoon the resort closes because of wind, where to eat or how to walk to the villages. For the lift pass and the snow report, the reference is the ticket offices of the Leitariegos resort, on the LE-497. Bear in mind that on weekdays the office is closed on Monday afternoons.

What to see in the valley

From Villablino starts the Laciana Greenway, 6.2 km of tarmac, accessible, along the old mining railway to Caboalles de Arriba, where the Capercaillie Centre is. In autumn, the Caboalles birch wood turns golden. In winter, skiing at Leitariegos or guided snowshoeing. For eating, La Bolera and La Campanona.