Belonging to the Leonese municipality of Crémenes (522 inhabitants), we find ourselves before a small wonder of a high mountain hamlet from Alto Esla that is Argovejo (55 inhabitants), located within the Montaña de Riaño y Mampodre Regional Park at 1080 meters above sea level and considered one of the most beautiful villages in León province.

To arrive there you'll have to cross the Esla river through a Roman road at Crémenes town and drive thorugh the mountains of León during 3 kilometers, approximately.

Esla river from Crémenes town bridge.
Esla river from Crémenes town bridge.

Esla river flowing (YouTube Short):

https://youtube.com/shorts/yu1djSP5Fys?feature=share

When you're arriving to the hamlet you'll find explanatory panels about how wolves were hunted there (wolf traps) and, at that point, you'll have a parking lot to park your car, but you can try to get into the narrow streets of the town and be lucky to find a free spot, as was my case.

Argovejo hamlet.
Argovejo hamlet.

As I arrived close to the lunch hour, I headed to one of the only two bars there, being my pick "El Salón" bar (29, Ponton street - They currently have a ⭐4.8 rating on Google Maps and my personal rating was ⭐5.) and met there the owner of the bar: a very kind old Leonese woman.

A ”Marianito” (name for a small glass of vermouth to drink together with some tapa) of homemade vermouth, sided with a prawns and chickpeas stew tapa (€2.50, tapa on the house).
A "Marianito" (name for a small glass of vermouth to drink together with some tapa) of homemade vermouth, sided with a prawns and chickpeas stew tapa (€2.50, tapa on the house).
Half board of assorted artisan cold meat (famouse Leonese beef jerky + smoked Serrano ham) and sausages (cured white and red sausages) and cheeses (blue sheep cheese, Cabrales type + aged cow cheese) - (€12, sided with artisan bread).
Half board of assorted artisan cold meat (famouse Leonese beef jerky + smoked Serrano ham) and sausages (cured white and red sausages) and cheeses (blue sheep cheese, Cabrales type + aged cow cheese) - (€12, sided with artisan bread).

When visiting the North of Spain my recommendation is always ask for half portions, since in here the portions are very large, as you can see in that "half board" for one person.

And with a full stomach I decided to visit the famous Hayedo de Argovejo, a true sanctuary for lovers of forests and mountains, through which the Achín river runs between the beech trees of a hundred-year-old forest.

You can do the entire circular route (about 6 km.) or simply visit the beech forest (about 2 km.) as was my case, since I began to get sleepy due to excess food and drink and it was also starting to get late.

Paradise on Earth (YouTube Short):

https://youtube.com/shorts/c2Z8qNul-DU?feature=share

I sat right in that area of the video and just enjoyed the peace and quiet, to the point of almost falling asleep on a tree trunk listening to the gentle sound of the stream.

The access to this route is from the town itself, crossing it on foot, and everything is very well indicated at all times, with wooden signs, being a route suitable for the whole family.

Overall evaluation of the bar: 5.5 points out of 10.

Photographs taken with my Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G camera.

YouTube shorts recorded with my Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G camera.

Sources on which I relied to give some accurate info about Argovejo hamlet, Regional Park and the beech forest: (1), (2), (3), (4)