In the southeast of the province of Burgos, the Demanda mountain range overlooks the Picos de Urbión, housing the Neila Glacial Lagoons Natural Park.
Due to the nature of its origins, this high mountain landscape is one of the most unique and beautiful in Castile and León. At the lowest levels, the Neila valley presents a different physiognomy to the rest of the valleys of the Sierra de la Demanda due to its isolation and, although maintaining common elements with other areas of the environment such as the extensive Scots pine forests, it preserves values own and differentiating landscapes.
As you ascend to heights close to two thousand meters in altitude, the landscape shows the scars of its glacial origin, among which the set of lagoons with accentuated chromatic contrasts stand out, forming some of the most interesting natural spaces in Spain. Its uniqueness has caused the development of a great diversity of flora and fauna, as well as specific aquatic ecosystems closely linked to glacierism.
In Neila, the legendary town rich in history and traditional architecture, as well as an important nucleus in the Cañadas Reales (Drovers' road) network with the consequent legacy linked to transhumance, the Casa del Parque is located inside the Romanesque church of San Miguel.
At the reception there is all the information to begin the visit to the territory, as well as a set of interactive modules with the values of the Natural Park and the Network of Natural Spaces of Castile and León.
The central body of the old church is structured with sliding panels that allow you to travel through time to understand the evolution of the landscape.
Water is another of the important elements of the natural space and in the anteroom of the altar a presence sensor has been installed that activates the model of the Park. By interacting with the buttons, five informative videos about water in its different states and its prominence are projected.
The corner of memory has been installed in the choir of the old church, with as its central axis the historical relevance of Neila in transhumance, without forgetting other aspects such as subsistence agriculture that was practiced, among others.
The old sacristy is the secluded space used as an audiovisual room and a small assembly hall.
