Picos de Europa

Picos de Europa - Overview:

The Picos de Europa mountains are simply an excellent location for outdoor activities including cycling, mountain biking, canoeing, caving, canyoning, rock climbing and gorge walking along with the more tranquil pastimes of walking and birdwatching. The forests and mountains of this dramatic and extremely beautiful mountain range are still amongst the most unvisited parts of Spain. The proximity of the Atlantic Ocean, together with the fact that the Moors never reached here, gives this region its distinctive character.

At higher levels the Picos de Europa scenery is quite spectacular with some first class descents (over 10,000m in total!); the flower-rich meadows of the foothills offer some excellent cross-country routes.

Picos de Europa - Geography:

The Picos de Europa form the apex of the Cordillera Cantabrica and are the third highest mountain range in Spain after the Pyrenees and the Sierra Nevada. The highest point, the summit of Torrecerredo (2,648 m.), crowns this spectacular limestone range that is often described as a moonscape, and with good reason, as much of the high Picos is devoid of vegetation.

In contrast the lower reaches of the area fully live up to their local name, �Green Spain', with the lush valleys providing excellent pastures and the higher meadows bedecked with wildflowers in the spring.

There are still villages here that have no roads connecting them to the outside world, and the wildness of the terrain meant that this was the one part of Spain that the Moors never conquered.

The Picos National Park was the first in Spain, and contains some of the finest mountain scenery and walking on the Iberian peninsula. The high, jagged limestone peaks are interspersed with green valleys where a traditional way of life still remains.

The scenery transforms to the spectacular lunar landscapes of the central massif, where the huge half-domed bulk of the 'Naranjo de Bulnes' towers above.

Picos de Europa - Nature:

Chamois are often seen across the Picos de Europa mountain range, and due to a total hunting ban are not at all shy, allowing you to approach well within camera range. Fire salamanders, a beautiful black and yellow or orange striped lizard, can often be seen, especially after a rain shower.

The abundant bird life is dominated by the golden eagles and griffon vultures that are constantly soaring around the rocky outcrops, but smaller kestrels, redstarts and wall creepers are all equally of interest to the ornithologist.

To add to the excitement, the Picos de Europa mountains are home to the wolf and the European brown bear. All these elements, together with traditional folklore and unique gastronomy (in particular some powerful local cheeses), combine to show a very different side of Spain.

Picos de Europa - Out & About:

The Cordillera Cantabrica mountain range forms a natural barrier between the plains of the interior and the rugged Atlantic coastline. In the province of Asturias the peaks reach almost 2000m, forming a wonderfully scenic backdrop to the sparsely populated and little known area of Somiedo.

Visitors are few and far between to what must be one of Spain's best-kept secrets. The area was declared a Natural Park in 1988, which has ensured its protection from modern development and allowed traditional agricultural methods to flourish, conserving this unique environment. The distinctive rural architecture is one of the outstanding features in this enclave, and scattered around the hills are rustic huts with thatched roofs, built to house herdsmen and their livestock on the high pastures. This is an area of exceptional beauty with one of the best-preserved natural expanses and richest biodiversities in Spain.

The oak and beech woods that dominate the Natural Park are home to wolves, wild boar, roe deer, mountain goats and an extensive variety of bird life. Eagles and buzzards circle overhead and kingfishers can often be seen along the riverbanks. Somiedo is also a refuge for one of the largest populations of the endangered Asturian brown bear.

Several projects have been established to conserve the bears, with The Asturian Wildlife Protection Society (FAPAS) being one of the most prominent. Visitors are actively encouraged to take part in the conservation projects.