Picos de Europa

THE JOURNEY IN DETAIL

Limestone and sea in one frame.

The Picos de Europa were named by sailors, for whom these limestone walls were the first land of Europe after the Atlantic. The coast is twenty kilometres away and the summits reach 2,650 metres — nowhere else in Europe packs that much relief into so little distance. In a week we walk the Cares gorge, climb to the Naranjo de Bulnes and sleep in refuges at 2,000 metres.

• The Cares gorge, twelve kilometres above the void
• The Naranjo de Bulnes, 2,519 m, up close
• The Covadonga lakes and basilica
• The Bulnes funicular and cabrales cheese caves

1. 01
   DAY 1 · Transfer and a 5 km walk

   Oviedo to Arenas de Cabrales

   We meet in Oviedo and drive two hours to Arenas de Cabrales at 145 m. An easy evening walk visits the caves where the blue cabrales cheese matures.

   Overnight: Hotel in Arenas de Cabrales
2. 02
   DAY 2 · 12 km, 400 m of ascent

   The Cares gorge: Cain to Poncebos

   The famous Divine Gorge path: twelve kilometres on a ledge cut into the canyon wall, up to three hundred metres above the river. It began as a service track for a 1916 hydro channel.

   Overnight: Hotel in Arenas de Cabrales
3. 03
   DAY 3 · 11 km, 1,500 m of climbing

   Bulnes and the climb to Urriellu

   From Poncebos we walk up to Bulnes at 650 m, a village with no road, reached only by path or funicular. Then 1,300 metres of ascent to the Urriellu refuge beneath the most famous wall in Spain.

   Overnight: Refugio de Urriellu, 1,960 m
4. 04
   DAY 4 · 14 km, 500 m of climbing

   Around the Naranjo and down to Sotres

   In the morning we circle the Naranjo de Bulnes at 2,519 m — the ochre wall changes character every half hour. Then the Jou Gran pass and a long descent through karst basins to Sotres at 1,045 m, the highest village in the massif.

   Overnight: Guesthouse in Sotres, 1,045 m
5. 05
   DAY 5 · 9 km, 750 m of ascent

   The western massif: Vega de Ario

   We transfer to the Covadonga lakes at 1,100 m and climb to the Vega de Ario refuge at 1,630 m. From here the whole depth of the Cares gorge opens, with the eastern massif opposite.

   Overnight: Refugio Vega de Ario, 1,630 m
6. 06
   DAY 6 · 13 km, 450 m of ascent

   Porra de Enol summit and the lakes

   An easy ascent of the Porra de Enol at 1,275 m, with a full circle from the summits to the Bay of Biscay. Down to the Enol and Ercina lakes and a transfer to the valley.

   Overnight: Hotel in Cangas de Onis
7. 07
   DAY 7 · 4 km and an 80 km transfer

   Covadonga and the road to Oviedo

   In the morning we visit the sanctuary of Covadonga, its basilica and the cave where the Reconquista began in the eighth century. In the afternoon we drive back to Oviedo, stopping for a cider lunch.

   Overnight: —