great family run hotel, with lovely staff. good local guide
Picos de Europa
Picos de Europa
5 of The Best Walking Trails on Picos de Europa Walking Holidays
Pandescura Peak: From the village of Canales, head through open farmland up to Collado de los Buitres before beginning the ascent to the base of Pandescura Peak. This distinctive limestone peak stands inside the western massif and during the walk you’ll ascend on goat tracks and through pretty meadows before tackling the summit. The final push to the top is worth the effort in return for the views across the valley and the western massif. This is one of the more tranquil and quieter treks in the Picos de Europa, where the only sounds you’ll hear are goat bells, and griffin vultures soaring overhead.
Main Range: Tielve village is the starting point for this walk. To reach the summit of the Main Range, where you’ll find one of the best viewpoints in the entire Picos de Europa, you’ll walk through peaceful woodland where you’re hugged by ancient hazel and beech trees. The track gradually steepens as you ascend to the summit of the Main Range. From this classic vantage point, you’ll be greeted with uninterrupted views of the central massif and the valleys below.
Lakes of Covadonga: This is one of the more challenging hikes in the national park, but it’s also one of the most rewarding. En route, it’s worth visiting the Covadonga Sanctuary, which consists of a holy cave built into the mountains, a grand basilica, a museum and a church. Continuing your walk, the trails are enveloped by awe-inspiring scenery that lead to the glacial lakes of Enol and Ercina. These natural wonders form the Lakes of Covadonga and in the warmer months when they thaw, a third lake named Bricial is created. Framing each of the lakes you’ll find dramatic peaks and lush landscapes covered in wildflowers.
Twin summits of Mancondiu: The trek to the twin summits of Mancondiu is one of the most demanding in the Picos de Europa mountains and they stand at 2,000 metres high. Much of the route follows old mining tracks that wind through dramatic scenery dominated by the western massif which looms over verdant valleys below. On reaching the summits of Mancondiu, the most arresting vista of the eastern and central massifs open up. Although there is the opportunity to cross between the two peaks, there is a steep drop below the exposed ridge which can be extremely daunting for anyone that doesn’t have a head for heights.
Cares Gorge Walk: Also known as the Divine Gorge, the Cares Gorge walk follows an engineered track around the rockface and is considered one of the most spectacular in the Picos de Europa. As well as the beautiful scenery, there are thrilling adventures around every twist and turn. During the walk you’ll be blessed with immense views of the limestone peaks, and you’ll cross over impressive bridges along the river trail. There’s also the opportunity to explore the mountain caves and tunnels, and you might even encounter a wild goat or the rare creeper bird on your journey.
jill stevens Walking the Picos de Europa
Tibor Bek Walking the Picos de EuropaThe hotel is in an excellent location, just on the edge of a small town, either looking at meadows at the back, or some fantastic mountain views in the front. Get back from a walk and sit in that front garden with views like that with a cold beer and your fellow walkers (who were such a fun bunch on this trip!), doesn’t get much better than that! Comfy rooms too. Charming staff, everyone was always very approachable and personable and nothing was ever too much trouble -not just for the owners, everyone, really. Great food, with sometimes variable portion sizes, but always very very well cooked.
The walking was varied, some days rockier terrain, some days quite muddy, some days a mix of everything – no complaints in that regard. I think appropriately graded as well. Day 1 really did feel just like a warm-up walk, the most featureless of them all, both in terms of terrain and scenery. Not a bad walk by any means, but nowhere near as good as the other four days. Whenever there was an optional ascent/scramble on any of the walks, the bail-out point was always well chosen.
The biggest surprise of the whole trip was how quiet and serene it all was! Hardly ever seen anyone else apart from our own group (minus the Cares Gorge, that is definitely a very popular walk), just made all the walks incredibly peaceful. Of course that might depend on the time of year, but we were very lucky with that in the first half of July.
Anthony Longaretti Walking the Picos de EuropaThe Torrecerredo is a great home-from-home, and the owners Jim and Pilar do everything to make your stay comfortable and convenient. The hotel staff are lovely.
Sometimes it was easy to forget you were in Spain, it was so lush and wet that the landscape was more reminiscent of Cornwall and Switzerland , especially with all those cows with bells around their necks!
Unfortunately the weather was very unpredictable and for two days the mountain mists descended and we could have been, well, anywhere.
The first walk was not especially interesting, the second was muddy but wonderful, and the sun shone.
I alone found the Cares Gorge a bit of a bore, a three hour unvarying trudge along a fairly busy path, then after a quick lunch you come back the way you came, so you get to see the same things twice.
Our fellow-travellers were a great bunch, which made the trip even more enjoyable.
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