Picos de Europa
Limestone walls of 2,600 m planted 20 km from the sea, cows on the roads and the country's best blue cheese ripened in caves: green Spain starts here, and it looks like nothing else.
Suggested stay — 3 nights
The Picos de Europa are a shock for anyone arriving from the south: Atlantic mists, meadows of an Irish green and limestone towers erupting above villages with granaries on stilts. Three massifs, three driving gateways: the Covadonga lakes on the Asturian side (a mythical road, closed to cars in summer in favour of shuttles from Cangas de Onís), the Cares gorge in the centre — 12 km of path cut into a vertiginous wall between Poncebos and Caín, THE hike of northern Spain —, and Fuente Dé on the Cantabrian side, where the cable car hoists you in 4 minutes to 1,823 m in the heart of the mineral cirque.
The ideal base camp is called Potes, a sturdy stone town at the meeting of the valleys, from which the N-621 climbs the spectacular La Hermida gorge. You taste cave-ripened cabrales and the local orujo, and you quickly learn the rules of the game: the weather turns in an hour, summits are won in fair-weather windows, and a fog day recycles itself into villages (Santillana del Mar is close) or Asturian cider houses.
Don't miss
- The Cares gorge from Poncebos towards Caín (start early; turning back halfway is fine)
- The Covadonga lakes (Enol and Ercina) and the sanctuary, by shuttle in summer
- The Fuente Dé cable car and the walk across the plateaus at 1,800 m
- Potes and the La Hermida gorge on the N-621, plus a cabrales ripening cave
Our tips on the ground
- In summer and on holiday weekends, the Covadonga lakes road closes to cars in the daytime: shuttles from Cangas de Onís, or drive up before 8 am — sunrise over Lake Ercina is worth the alarm anyway.
- The Cares road ends at Poncebos and the car park overflows by 10 am in season: park lower down at Arenas de Cabrales if needed, the approach walk is short.
- Pack a fleece and a waterproof layer even in August: at 1,800 m under Atlantic influence the fog rises in minutes — check the Fuente Dé webcams before paying for the cable car.
Our flagship guide — €29
Guide available“Spain on Your Own Terms”, the complete edition, is out
10 chapters: day-by-day itineraries, driving and transport, a costed budget and checklists — the same method as our Namibia guide.
The guide is currently written in French — an English edition is in the works.
Before you go
Readers' questions about Picos de Europa
Do you have to walk the full 24 km round trip of the Cares gorge?
No: the trail is an out-and-back on the same line, and the most spectacular section (Los Collados, the channel carved into the cliff face) lies within the first 5-6 kilometres from Poncebos. Walking 2.5 hours, picnicking above the void and returning is a perfect format; completists push on to Caín for a lemonade and the bus back... which doesn't exist — you walk home.
When is the best season for the Picos?
Late May to early October for the mountains, with a preference for June and September: clear trails, less crowded shuttles, superb light. July-August guarantees the services but not the sunshine — the Atlantic decides. In winter the heights close, but Potes, La Hermida and the nearby coast make a superb escape in absolute calm.