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 — €44
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.
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1. What you need
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.