The Charca del Hoyo de San Andrés is located within the municipality of Husillos, in the province of Palencia, in an area directly linked to the route of the Canal de Castilla, near the El Paramillo and Velasco areas, as well as the Casablanca aqueduct and the Valdemudo bridge. Its origin is tied to the construction and operation of the canal between the 18th and 19th centuries, one of the great hydraulic engineering works of Enlightenment Spain.
This wetland formed as a result of changes to the natural drainage of the land and seepage associated with the canal channel. It is a small, floodable depression with a water level that varies considerably throughout the year, depending on both the hydraulic regime and seasonal climatic conditions.
The Charca del Hoyo de San Andrés is part of the Lagunas del Canal de Castilla Special Protection Area for Birds (SPA)
, integrated into the Natura 2000 network, and has been included in the restoration and environmental management actions carried out within the framework of the LIFE project. Its heritage value lies both in its ecological interest and in its capacity to explain the territorial and landscape effects resulting from a historical infrastructure that permanently transformed the area. For the visitor, this enclave offers a discreet but significant stop on the Canal de Castilla route, ideal for understanding how engineering, landscape and nature intertwine in one of the most unique heritage sites in the province of Palencia.
