As seen on
Picos Adventure - Jones Family
Northern Spain
From
This trip supports
- Overview
- Itinerary
- Esential info
- Reviews
- Packing list
Grade:
Intermediate
Type:
Activity
Duration:
3 Nights
6 - 6
Group size
Leaders
Tour Highlights
- Explore charming Picos town of Arenas de Cabrales
- Traditional hotels
- Views of the iconic Las Peñas Santas
- Hike the legendary Cares Gorge Path
- Áliva Glacier Valley
Hike the best mountain trails in the Picos de Europa
This itinerary offers a journey through the breathtaking landscapes of the Picos de Europa, a stunning mountain range in northern Spain.
The adventure begins in the charming village of Arenas de Cabrales, where you will settle in at the Hotel Villa de Cabrales. The next few days are packed with scenic hikes that showcase the beauty of the region, from the serene lakes of Covadonga to the dramatic Cares Gorge. The hiking trails will take you through picturesque valleys, and lush meadows, offering stunning views of the peaks and rivers.
Along the way, you will encounter historical landmarks such as the Virgin of Covadonga, explore the traditional mountain villages, and experience the vibrant wildlife.
The journey concludes with a hike through the Áliva Glacier Valley, ending in the tranquil village of Sotres. This is an adventure that combines the thrill of outdoor exploration with the charm of the Picos de Europa's natural and cultural heritage.
Enjoy the timeless mountain culture of hikers and climbers as you revel in the expansive mountain views leading down to the bright blue ocean, and the clean, fresh air. Wildlife to be found up here include the nimble chamois, lammergeier vultures and eagles, though bears and wolves have been reintroduced to the mountains lower down.
ABOUT THE PICOS DE EUROPA
A little-known gem of a mountain range in Northern Spain, the Picos de Europa (‘Peaks of Europe’) spread for 20km across the stunning autonomous regions of Asturias, Cantabria, Castile and León, leading down to the emerald green coastline of the Atlantic Ocean. They offer some of the best hiking in Spain.
One of the first National Parks to be founded in Europe, the limestone peaks reach up to 2,600m where eagles and lammergeiers soar, from deep valleys and verdant pastures dotted with delightful rural villages and grazing animals. A widely accepted origin for the name is that they were the first sight of Europe for ships arriving from the Americas, and they remain deeply impressive as ever, yet somehow overlooked by mainstream tourism.
Day 1: Arrival into Arenas De Cabrales
3 star hotel
Upon arrival in Arenas de Cabrales, check in at Hotel Villa de Cabrales. A small town, nestled into the mountains, it is the perfect place to start your adventure.
Depending on your arrival time, freshen up, relax or explore independently before meeting your English speaking Spanish who will go over the details of your adventure.
If you need some ideas on structuring your first afternoon, don't hesitate to let us know.
Accommodation: Hotel Villa de Cabrales in Arenas de Cabrales
Day 2: Hiking around the lakes of Covadonga
Breakfast
3 star hotel
After breakfast, we’ll head to Lake Ercina, located in the heart of the Picos de Europa mountain range. The hike begins with a climb to the top of La Reblagas, followed by a walk to the picturesque Bricial Majada—a high mountain meadow where horses, sheep, and other animals graze during the mild summer months. The route continues toward the Vega de Enol Majada, crossing through a beautiful beech forest. Here, we’ll take a break to enjoy lunch while admiring spectacular views of the iconic “Las Peñas Santas” peaks. After lunch, we’ll continue our hike to Lake Enol. In the afternoon, we’ll visit Covadonga to explore its church and the famous “Holy Cave,” home to the revered Virgin of Covadonga. We’ll then return to Arenas de Cabrales for the night.
Hike: Circular route - 8km, +250m / -250m
Accommodation: Hotel Villa de Cabrales in Arenas de Cabrales
Day 3: The Cares Gorge Path
Transfer
Breakfast
Dinner
3 star hotel
After breakfast, we’ll transfer from La Tahona de Besnes to Poncebos, where our adventure along the legendary Cares Gorge Path begins. This spectacular gorge, with its narrow passes and dramatic cliffs, lies at the heart of the Picos de Europa National Park. The trail offers breathtaking views, cutting through rugged rock formations and wild landscapes. As you walk, you’ll be accompanied by the sound of the river running along the valley floor. The path occasionally passes through tunnels carved out of the rock and crosses suspension bridges over deep chasms, making for a thrilling experience. The route stretches between Poncebos in Asturias and Caín in León, running parallel to the Cares River, one of the wildest rivers in the region. The hike covers 12 km along a well-maintained path. After completing the hike, we’ll board an off-road vehicle for a scenic drive through the Valdeón Valley, arriving at Fuente Dé and continuing to the mountain village of Espinama.
Hike: 12km, +250m / -150m
Accommodation: Hostal Remoña
Day 4: Hike along the Áliva Glacier Valley
Transfer
Breakfast
Following breakfast, we’ll take a short drive to the Áliva Refuge, the starting point of our hike through the stunning Áliva Glacier Valley. We’ll walk across the ancient moraine left by the glacier and descend into Asturias, following the course of the Duje River. The trail passes through lush grasslands, where you’ll see cows, goats, and sheep grazing peacefully. Our journey will take us to the traditional hamlet of Vegas del Toro, a charming collection of red-roofed buildings nestled in the valley. The hike ends in the picturesque village of Sotres, where our vehicle will be waiting to take us back to Arenas de Cabrales to end the adventure.
Adventure Optional Extras
Plant an additional 15 trees for your adventure
Carbon Compensation is not the perfect solution, and it is important to first reduce our carbon emissions as much as we can, yet trees remain an excellent natural technology to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to slow global warming.
For every client and guide who attends a YellowWood Adventure, we donate £30 to our partner charity WeForest to plant 15 trees to (over) compensate for the carbon footprint of the tour.
We also invite our clients to match this with an optional additional £30 for another 15 trees to be planted to help compensate for the carbon footprint of their international flights.
WeForest run many tree planting and tree maintenance projects such as this seedling nursery in the Amhara region of Ethiopia, the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil and many other projects in other countries including Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania & India.
Click Here to find out more about their amazing projects around the world.
Not Included
- International flights (or ferry) and taxes
- Insurance
- Tips
- Lunches, snacks & drinks
- Dinners on days 1 & 2
Contents
Accommodation
We fully believe in, and practice, Responsible Tourism, using hotels run by locals. The accommodation on this adventure is a mixture of comfortable and welcoming hotel accommodation offering rooms with ensuite facilities, plus immersion into the mountain landscapes with 3 nights in stunningly situated mountain refuges. All refuges offer modern facilities, expansive views and a warm ambiance, but expect shared bathrooms and dormitory accommodation.
We put time and effort into building our relationship with accommodation suppliers to ensure you have a great trip;
We choose accommodation based on cleanliness, comfort, safety, proximity to our route (to avoid unnecessary extra travel) and a warm client welcome, as well as reliability in their service to us. Wherever we can we will choose smaller, more characterful, individual hotels, but in areas where tourism is still developing, or in remote areas (like the mountains), we may not have a wide range of options. An aspect of our adventures is to escape the ‘trappings’ of modern Western lifestyles and to experience new things with are exciting and memorable and reflects the countries we are visiting.
Guiding & Your Group
Supporting you on your holiday will be a local, English speaking Spanish guide who is qualified to lead walkers in the mountains and knows the Picos like the back of their hand! This ensures you are in excellent hands and that you have access to local knowledge.
We work jointly with our Spanish Tour Operator partners both before and during your adventure to ensure that they understand your needs and the standard that YellowWood Adventures expects. We believe that it is a very important positive aspect of Responsible Tourism, to employ the expertise of local suppliers, as well as offering you a much more informative and authentic experience.
Am I fit enough?
Your itinerary involves hiking at altitude (up to 2500m), over passes and traversing mountain slopes. You will encounter rough terrain, steep gradients, scrambling and some vertiginous paths at varying times. Trails will not always be defined and will be narrow and rocky at times. You will be walking for extended periods of time and on consecutive days.
To get the most of out of this adventure, you need to be a walker with experience of consecutive days higher-level walking in the mountains, and be in good physical condition.
You will be carrying a 30-40L rucksack each day. Any hiking is undertaken at the natural pace of the group, with regular stops for photos, snacks etc. Walking boots that have already been worn in are essential on this adventure.
For convenience, peace of mind, and to reduce the purchase of single use plastic water bottles, we highly recommend a filtration water bottle such as Aquapure Traveller (offer available - please contact us for details).
Travel
For those of you who choose to fly into Northern Spain, Bilbao airport is a fully functioning, international airport welcoming domestic flights and those from Europe. Airport services include Duty Free, ATMs and Currency Exchange.
Finding flights
Flights are not included in the cost of your holiday, and whilst we are happy to help advise you, responsibility for booking the correct flights rests with you. We recommend that you use a comparison tool when searching for flights, such as skyscanner or www.momondo.co.uk.
We will send you a Flight Information Sheet with further pointers on which flights to book for your adventure.
Travel by Ferry
Although the most timely way to get to the Picos is to use a low cost airline, there is much joy to be found in incorporating your travel into your adventure and choosing the lower carbon footprint option of the ferry. You can travel to Bilbao from Portsmouth (23hrs 45mins), with Brittany Ferries. An added bonus to this form of travel is the opportunity to spot whales and dolphins in the Bay of Biscay!
Foreign Travel Advice
For the latest travel advice from the Foreign & Commonwealth Development Office including security and local laws, plus passport and visa information, check www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice. As the situation in our destination countries can change, please do ensure you check regularly before your adventure.
We also receive notifications direct from the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) so we are always aware of the ‘status’ in our destination countries.
Arrival
For those of you who choose to fly into Northern Spain, Bilbao airport is a fully functioning, international airport welcoming domestic flights and those from Europe. Airport services include Duty Free, ATMs and Currency Exchange. On arrival at the airport you will go through passport control to baggage reclaim and onwards to Arrivals where you will be met by a driver / guide with a YellowWood Adventures sign.
For those choosing to arrive by ferry, you will also be met by a driver/ guide with a YellowWood Adventures sign, in the ferry Arrivals Terminal.
All group specific, final details on where to meet your guide will be sent to you prior to the start of your adventure.
Insurance
Holiday insurance is essential for all Yellow Wood Adventures. Unfortunately, anyone without insurance is not able to take part in the holiday, so please make sure you arrange cover. We recommend arranging your insurance cover when you book so that if you have problems during the run up to your holiday, and need to cancel, you are covered.
YellowWood partners with battleface as a travel insurance provider. Click here for a quote.
battleface insurance is provided in the UK by battleface Insurance Services Limited, a UK insurance intermediary authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Details provided on this webpage are for information only. Terms, conditions, exclusions, and limitations apply. Always read the description of cover contained within your policy to ensure it is suitable for your needs.
Prior to the holiday, we will ask you to send us details of your insurer, policy number, 24 hour emergency assistance contact details and the name, address, and telephone numbers of your NOK or persons to be notified in the event of an emergency.
You must ensure the travel insurance you purchase provides you with suitable cover for the entirety of your trip. Your travel insurance must include cover in the event that you have to cancel for a reason outside your control prior to departure, for any medical expenses you may incur whilst away (including repatriation in the case of medical need) and for the activities which you may participate in during your trip.
General information on Spain
For information on Northern Spain, such as climate, weather, language, social norms, food & drink etc, please have a read of our Country specificinformation.
Reviews
YellowWood Adventures
This is a new itinerary for YellowWood and as such, we do not yet have any reviews. We would love you to be the first to review the adventure!
Receive a 15% discount off Water-to-Go filtration water-bottles to help reduce plastic waste.
Compulsory
- € Currency, or US$ / £GB to exchange
- Passport & insurance documents
- Credit / debit card for use in ATMs
- Prescription medication & antibiotics such as Azithromycin to stop serious traveller's diarrhoea
- First aid kit: paracetamol, anti-diarrhoea tables, rehydration sachets, antihistamine cream, ibuprofen cream, thermometer & blister kit (eg plasters & zinc oxide tape).
- Washbag & usual contents - small travel bottles please! Biodegradable multi purpose soap can be used for washing clothes & self.
- Flannel & Towel (ultralight, quick drying travel towel)
- 'On the go' Toilet kit: toilet roll, wet wipes & ziplock bags for carrying paper out. Biodegradable wet wipe brands: Canny Mum, Close Pop & Travel Buddy
- Insect repellent
- Hand sanitiser (70% alcohol) & min of 2 reusable & 10 disposable face coverings
- Sunglasses & high factor suncream
- Sun hat or baseball cap
Items for hiking
- 40-45L Rucksack with waist & chest strap
- Sleeping bag & pillowcase - lightweight bag as blankets and pillows will be provided in huts.
- Water-to-Go filtration water-bottle & additional storage water-bottle - ideally 2 litres per person
- Waterproof stuff sacks & liners to keep kit dry. Esp. important for sleeping bags & spare clothes
- Walking boots - already broken in & ideally with goretex.
- Torch with spare batteries / charger
Clothing
- General socks (2-3 pairs) & underwear
- Suitable clothes (eg leggings) /pjs for sleeping in at night (NB some dormitory accommodation)
- Light clothes for day time - 2-3 short sleeved 1st layer t-shirts. NB technical fabrics dry quickly in hot or wet weather when hiking.
- Primaloft or lightweight down, long sleeved layer. This is better than a fleece as weighs less, compresses better and serves as a 2nd or 3rd layer.
- Buff or neck gaiter for cold weather / sun protection.
- Good quality Walking trousers & shorts
- Flip flops or lightweight sandals for evenings
- Warm hat & gloves
- High Quality Waterproof jacket - goretex if possible
Optional
- Spare ziplock bags for dirty clothes, waterproofing phones, rubbish & general organising
- Camera & charging cables / plug
- Phone & charging cables / plug
- EU plug adaptor
- Walking poles
- Bum bag or grab bag for essentials
- Lightweight waterproof trousers
This trip supports
Need a little help?
All adventures can be tailored as private bespoke trips.
Please contact us for more information:
+44 207 846 0197
Related Adventures
Booking Process
Select dates: Choose the dates for your adventure and consider adding any extra adventures or add-ons to enhance your experience.
Check the box to agree to our Terms & Conditions.
Make Booking: Click on "Make Booking." If you're booking more than 56 days before your adventure, you'll be redirected to secure WorldPay to make your deposit. If it's 56 days or less before your adventure, you'll need to make full payment. Rest assured, your money is held securely by the Travel Trust Association.
Your booking will show as 'pending' in your YellowWood online account.
Confirmation: We'll be in touch as soon as possible to confirm your booking or discuss any availability limitations. Please refrain from booking transport or flights until we've emailed you to confirm your booking. (Note: Receipt of your booking form is not confirmation.)
Making payment: Once your booking is confirmed, we'll change the status of your final invoice from 'Pending Approval' to 'Outstanding,' indicating that it's ready for payment online.
You will receive a reminder email for your final payment 56 days before the departure date.
Feel free to contact us with any questions about your adventure or booking, we're here to help!
Grading
To help you choose the right adventure for you, we have given each itinerary a grading that relates to the level of Walking / Trekking you will experience during the trip. This grading can be found on the Yellow map on the adventure page of the website.
All of our trips involve a level of general activity so are designed for people who are in good health, enjoy the outdoors, and have a taste for adventure and some level of fitness. As will be clear from our destinations, the climate (and altitude) may be different to that which you are used to, so please take this into consideration when choosing the most suitable holiday.
Please read our Adventure Itinerary & Essential Information for more information and don't hesitate to contact us if you would like to chat through whether you have found a suitable adventure for you.
Grade 1-3: Entry Level
You need to be in good physical health to enjoy your active holiday, but you don’t need to be an experienced hiker. These itineraries offer a mix of sightseeing and easier walking for around 2-4hrs a day, with the emphasis on sights and cultural experiences.
Walks will be well marked or on defined pathways, and often around sites of interest. The expected amount of descent/ascent will depend on the landscapes of the destination, but will not exceed 400m/day, and will often be much less. Walks are at low altitude (below 3000m).
You will not be required to carry more than a day sack with water and essentials. Ensure you are aware of the weather conditions likely in the destination you are visiting and have a pair of comfortable and worn in walking shoes/boots.
Grades 4-6: Intermediate
You need to have a good level of fitness and be a regular walker for these adventures, with ideally some trekking experience. You can expect to be walking for 3-6 hours per day, not including rest stops, normally on good trail paths but with some uneven surfaces at times.
You will not be required to carry more than a day sack. You may be walking in more challenging temperatures. You will generally be walking at low altitude (below 3000m) but may walk at altitudes up to 4000m. The amount of ascent could be up to 800m in a day but will frequently be less. You may walk on consecutive days.
Ensure you are aware of the weather conditions likely in the destination you are visiting and have suitable clothing for this adventure.
Grades 7-9: Challenging
You need to have a good level of fitness with previous experience of trekking. Extra training before your trip will ensure that you get the most out of your adventure. Areas will be remote and terrain uneven.
Expect to walk for 5 – 8 hours a day, not including breaks, with some very steep ascents and descents. You will be walking at altitude (over 3000m but not higher than 5000m).
Ensure you are aware of the weather conditions likely in the destination you are visiting and have suitable equipment/clothing for this adventure (see the packing list for your adventure).
Please check individual itineraries for details of what you will need to be carrying with you.
Get in touch
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