Hiking the High Trails of the Picos de Europa

On this hiking holiday in Northern Spain, you'll explore the best high mountain trails and unspoilt wildlife that Spain has to offer.



This ‘challenging’-level hike through the Picos de Europa takes place during the summer when the snows have melted from the high passes of the range. The joy of this adventure is being able to hike through the central massif and stay at altitude, journeying from one stunningly situated mountain refuge to another, via steep gradients and some scrambling and more technical sections.



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.



The central massif of the Picos, which stages our adventure, is without a doubt, the most wild and spectacular scenery in the national park; home to Torrecerredo, 2650m ‘Closed Tower’, the highest peak in the range and Naranjo de Bulnes, 2519m ‘The Orange Tree of the village Bulnes’, certainly the most iconic. 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.

The list below gives information on our first choice of accommodation for this adventure. Where hotels and refuges are fully booked or unavailable, we will use an alternative of a similar standard, and equally well situated. We will provide you with an accurate list of accommodation, with contact information to leave with relatives, prior to departure on your adventure.

Arenas de Cabrales: (Day 1 & 2): Hotel Picos de Europa, Arenas de Cabrales, Espana (+34 985846491). Ensuite rooms, garden, outdoor pool & Wifi.

Casa Cayo, Potes (Day 3): Characterful mountain Hotel Restaurant in Potes (+34 942730150). Ensuite rooms.

Collada Jermoso Refuge (Day 4): Diego Mella Refuge, Collado Jermoso, Valdeon Valley (+34 636998727), Mountain refuge at 2064m. Dormitory accommodation (7 or 8 beds) with shared bathrooms and restaurant facilities.

Urriellu Refuge (Day 5): Dramatically situated refuge at the base of Naranjo de Bulnes @ Hotel (+34 984090981). Dormitory accommodation (7 or 8 beds) with shared bathrooms and restaurant facilities.

Refuge de Cabrones (Day 6): Refuge at 2034m altitude (+34 6507780381). Dormitory accommodation with shared bathrooms and restaurant facilities.

Gran Hotel Paraiso, Llanes (Day 7): Calle Pidal, 33500 Llanes, Asturias (+34 985402325). Ensuite rooms, air con & Wifi