On June 19, 2025, after having walked the beautiful trail to the Vega de Urriellu Refuge the day before, I did the second and last trek on the program, in the Picos de Europa Park, during my trip to Northern Spain.

Trekking: Ruta del Cares, Picos de Europa, Asturias, Spain

I walked the famous Ruta del Cares, from Poncebos, towards Cain. It is a service road, built in the last century, to allow maintenance of the water channel heading to the Poncebos hydroelectric plant. The Ruta enters the Rio Cares valley, with several sections dug into the walls overlooking the gorges, dug by the torrent, with tunnels, walkways and suspension bridges. It was another beautiful excursion, characterized by another hot day, despite the partial cloud cover. The departure from Poncebos immediately gives you a beautiful climb, steep, to overcome the 150 meters of altitude difference, which take you to Los Collaos. Then, a long descent begins, with some flat sections, towards Cain.

Once after the hill, the panoramically captivating sections soon begin, in which the path develops on a wide ledge, under which the slope (almost vertical at times) drops towards the gorge of the torrent below. You will also come across several tunnels dug into the rock. Although at times the trail runs alongside the water channel of the hydroelectric plant, there are not many places to get water along the way, except for a small stream, almost halfway. Take this into account, and then bring something to drink.

Due to time constraints, and also due to the tiredness accumulated the day before, I did not walk the entire 13 kms route to Cain (26 km round trip). I stopped 4 km before, at Paserela de Los Martinez, missing the last stretch down in the gorges, probably the most spectacular. Maybe, one day, I will return. The route is quite popular, and therefore I recommend doing the excursion in spring or autumn, if possible, also for climatic reasons.

Enjoy your walk. Fabio

Click here, for photos of the excursion to the Ruta del Cares