Livestock farming has been the main economic activity in the Tena Valley for centuries. To shelter the shepherds from the cold of winter and the heat of summer, dry stone huts were built in fields and meadows, with a false vault and a circular shape, although there are also square huts leaning against the hillside, walls, caves or catteries.

The ancient inhabitants of the valley called these shepherd's huts “tenas”. Due to their large number in the high areas of the Gállego river basin, they are the ones that have given their name to the Bal de Tena, which literally means ‘valley of cattle sheds’. Since the 14th century, these dry stone huts have been of great importance.

Many of these huts, which have been declared Intangible Monuments by Unesco, are still standing, resisting the passing of the centuries and the harsh winters of the valley. Others have been restored or rebuilt, as the Sallent Town Council did in 2018 with the tena located next to the Aguas Limpias river.

This information is taken from the book ‘Casetas Pastoriles en el Valle de Tena’, written by Mariano Fanlo Basail, from Sallent and chronicler of the village. It is a very interesting tourist guide that offers its readers information on the history of these tenas and a numbered map with the location of the huts in each locality of the Tena Valley.