• Study.The most expensive and cheapest Spanish cities to spend the holidays
  • Tourism.Spain, the country with the most hotel reservations for summer in the world

It is not only the least polluted town in Spain, but in all of Europe. Villalba de Guardo honors the title on the banks of the Carrión river , where the paramo ends and begins the Montaña Palentina , a spectacular (and quite unknown) chain of peaks and ridges in the province of the same name. For something, the bucolic town of just 202 inhabitants has the purest air on the Old Continent, according to the World Air Quality Report, which reviews the most polluted destinations on the planet.

The study is carried out each year by the Health Organization (WHO) through IQAir AirVisual, the world's largest platform for information on ambient air quality. It is based on the analysis of the average concentration of ultrafine particles of less than a diameter of 2.5 microns per cubic meter (PM2.5) in suspension in the air, mostly from emissions from diesel vehicles , the industry , heating and burning of coal.

Draw with Norway and Portugal

In the case of Villalba de Guardo, said concentration is 3.8, being the lowest index in the Old Continent, which is tied for the position with the towns of Bodo (Norway) and Salao (Portugal). The figures have nothing to do with those used in countries such as Bangladesh (with 83.3), Pakistan (with 65.8) or Mongolia (with 62), which are the highest in the WHO study.

Town entrance Villalba de Guardo.GOOGLE EARTH

The reasons why the people of Palencia lead the ranking is the nature that surrounds it, between peaks, valleys, lush vegetation and hiking trails, ornithology and wine tourism and two steps from the Palentina Mountain, encompassed under the name of Fuentes Carrionas Natural Park and Copper Fountain. Located in the north of the Castilla-Leon province, it is the natural habitat of the brown bear and grouse and various botanical species.

Rural destination for summer

All this makes Villalba a first-rate rural enclave for everyone who wants to disconnect, which is why this summer is shaping up to be the perfect vacation spot. Not surprisingly, rural and nature destinations have experienced a 122% increase in the number of reservations for the summer in recent weeks. Privacy and the forced social distancing caused by the coronavirus are some of the causes, as well as the need to escape from the cities after so many days of confinement.

View of the Carrión river as it passes through the municipality of Palencia. EL MUNDO

And that's all that Villalba de Guardo has to offer, apart from the purest air on the planet. Its 3.8 microns per cubic meter in the air are far from the Spanish average, which reaches 9.7, ranking 82nd on the WHO world list. This includes 98 countries, but beware, the most polluted places appear in the first places and the least, in the last. In this way, the Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands, Iceland or Finland would be the ones with the purest air.

Places of interest

In short, it is time to visit Villalba de Guardo, located at an altitude of 1,060 meters. Whoever needs more reasons for a getaway , here are more: its history goes back to the Romans, when the population was known as Petra urca . They say that it was the Muslim leader Almanzor who gave it its current name, impressed by the light that the village received with the setting sun.

The Norwegian town of Bodo competes with Villalba de Guardo.VISIT NORWAY

Among the alleys of the town you have to visit the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption , built in stonework and boulders. Another of its points of interest is the Álvarez de Miranda manor house , the place where the old Inquisition exercised its mandate. You must also go to the El Plantío park and the recreational area installed next to the Carrión river, emblem of the town.

In accordance with the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • tourism
  • Palencia
  • Castilla y León

De-escalation An airline resumes flights to Italy without realizing that the destination airport is closed

SummerThe most beautiful towns in Spain impose a manual of behavior on tourists in fear of contagion

Forbidden to scream on the roller coaster or hug Mickey Mouse: this is how the theme parks reopen after the coronavirus

See links of interest

  • News
  • Translator
  • Programming
  • Calendar
  • Horoscope
  • Classification
  • League calendar
  • Films
  • Schools
  • Masters
  • Cut notes
  • Rich
  • Universities
  • Themes
  • Coronavirus
  • Borussia Mönchengladbach - VfL Wolfsburg
  • Getafe - Espanyol
  • Villarreal - Mallorca
  • Lugo - Real Zaragoza
  • Barcelona - Leganés