The La Sorda River: from Cuevalagua to the Deva beneath Canchorral de Hormas

The La Sorda is a short, steep river in Cillorigo de Liébana, at the eastern edge of the Liébana region. It descends from the Picos de Europa area through the Colio valley and joins the Deva near the hermitage of San Francisco. Its character is closely tied to Canchorral de Hormas, a vast accumulation of unstable rock that dominates its headwaters and has been the scene of historic landslides popularly known as the ‘Little Devils of Colio’.

Source at Cuevalagua

The spring that feeds the river year-round lies at Cuevalagua, beneath Canchorral de Hormas at the head of the valley. The geological guide to the Picos de Europa National Park confirms that slope movement affects the headwaters of La Sorda below the Agudinas and Acero peaks, northwest of Colio. A specialist field account identifies Cuevalagua as the point where the spring emerges.

Water and material from the hillside pass through a steep-sided gorge. The concentration of boulders, fractured rock and periods of intense rainfall make this a dynamic geological landscape. The upper area should not be treated as an easy excursion or a prepared visitor site: accounts describe broken ground, exposed passages and rockfall. For a visit, stay on signed public paths and keep away from the gorge and boulder deposits.

Through Colio to the confluence

From its headwaters, the river runs past the La Parte neighbourhood and the village of Colio. Heritage sources use both ‘La Sorda River’ and ‘Colio River’ for this valley and course beneath the range of the same name. Regional mapping shows a named section of about 5.30 km; this is not an official hydrological measurement of the river’s full length. Local literature gives a figure of around seven kilometres, probably including headwater stretches mapped under different names.

In its lower reaches, La Sorda flows towards the Deva and passes close to the hermitage of San Francisco. The bridge on the Lebaniego Way crosses the river there; the legal boundary of the protected river area also uses as a reference the bridge on the track leading from the CA-884 towards Colio. This section lies within the Deva River Site of Community Importance. Protected status does not mean that every bank or path is open to the public: respect closures, signs and private land.

Tributaries and names used for the river

The sources describe several springs coming together around the headwaters, but do not provide a reliable list of named tributaries. For that reason, this guide does not infer secondary tributaries from map symbols alone. La Sorda flows into the Deva and is one of its tributaries. ‘San Lorenzo River’ appears as an alternative name in descriptions of the stretch by the hermitage; ‘Colio River’ is used for the same valley and watercourse.

Places to discover near the river

• Colio and La Parte: the village and its neighbourhood help visitors understand the valley and its traditional architecture. The Church of Santiago de Colio is a heritage landmark; the photograph in this guide shows the church, not the river.
• Canchorral de Hormas: an exceptional geological feature and the source of the avalanches that inspired the ‘Little Devils’ legend. Observe it from a safe place; do not climb up the gorge without appropriate experience and current local information.
• Hermitage of San Francisco and the Lebaniego Way: the bridge over La Sorda marks the final stretch before the river joins the Deva. Check the route conditions and follow the Camino signs; do not walk along the road to look for the river.
• The Deva and Cillorigo de Liébana: the Deva River guide explains the receiving watercourse, while the Cillorigo de Liébana guide helps plan a visit to the municipality.

In 1902, heavy rain and rockfalls from Canchorral blocked the river, flooded land in Colio and destroyed bridges, a mill and a hermitage, according to a historical account based on contemporary newspapers. This is a documented past event, not a description of present-day conditions. It does help explain the need for caution around the headwaters and the way floods can reshape the area.

Photograph

Church of Santiago in Colio. Photograph by Emilio Gómez Fernández, CC BY-SA 4.0. A contextual image of the village, not a photograph of the river. File and licence. An openly licensed, georeferenced image of the river or Cuevalagua is still being sought.

Sources

• Spanish Geological and Mining Institute, Geological guide to Picos de Europa National Park: Canchorral de Hormas.
• Government of Cantabria, Act 4/2006 and boundaries of the Deva river Site of Community Importance: the La Sorda stretch from its confluence with the Deva to the bridge on the access track to Colio.
• Government of Cantabria, General Hydrographic Network, layer 294: mapped name and geometry, checked on 3 November 2026.
• Encyclopaedia of Romanesque Art, Colio and the La Sorda or Colio River: location of the village beside the river and its route towards the Deva near San Francisco.
• PUCAVI, Cuevalagua and the headwaters of the La Sorda: field description of the spring; a non-official hiking source used for the place-name and terrain caution.
• Valle de Liébana, The 1902 Canchorral de Hormas landslides and the ‘Little Devils of Colio’: transcript and context from historical accounts.
• Wikimedia Commons, Church of Santiago in Colio: contextual photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0.