Covadonga Lakes Tour by 4x4 begins in the town of Cangas de Onís where we will pick you up to undertake the “adventure” around 9:30, where we will take the slopes to climb to the village of Següenco, a town at the highest altitude of the Concejo de Cangas de Onís .
We will climb the viewpoint of the same name from which we have a spectacular panoramic view of the mountains that separate the coast from the interior of this area of Asturias: the Sierra del Sueve and the Sierra del Cuera . Also, we will see the sea on the horizon, the Basilica of Covadonga and the Pico Priena , along with part of the western massif of the Picos de Europa.
After this stop we will follow paths that will lead us to the village of Torió to go down to Soto de Cangas where we will start to climb the Covadonga River towards the Basilica of the same name, following its access road.
During this tour we will see in first person how the lifestyle, the uses of the territory and the traditional architecture of these Villages have been adapted to the harsh life in nature and more recently to the influx of mass tourism. This difficult balance is combined in the form of meadows where cows and sheep of relict breeds are grazing free , waiting for their particular transhumance to high ports, hórreos houses and bread houses intermingled with rural lodges and restaurants serving typical Asturian food.
Continuing our route we ascend the same paths used by the Arabs in their flight, after the battle of Covadonga, to climb to the Lakes.
We ascend through mixed riparian forests, meadows and pastures, and patchwork of original forests. We will discover the shepherds where the shepherds lived for long periods and performed the famous “cheeses del puertu” such as the shepherds of Gumartini where this activity still lasts today.
So, we arrived at Lake Ercina.
From Lake Ercina, we will walk a circular route that will take us to the Vega del Lago Enol.
Leaving our gaze to advance, this one meets Mount Palomberu, a sample of the high mountain forests of the Park, where beech and birches are intermingled with holly and confer a variety of shades throughout the different seasons of the year.
We will see the Buferrera mine where minerals were extracted, Manganese and Iron, until 1932, and we will learn more about the hard work of the miners.
On the way back in 4x4 we can stop at the Mirador del Príncipe, from which you can see the Vega Comeya. An old lagoon now fully filled, giving rise to pastures and peat bogs and areas that remain waterlogged for much of the year. This is a place of special interest both geological and botanical, and without doubt one of the most beautiful landscapes of the Park since on clear days we see the mountains on one side and the sea on the other. Back to Cangas de Onís we stop in Covadonga to visit the Basilica and the Santina de Covadonga .
We return to Cangas de Onís after a full day of history, nature and unique landscapes that through the explanations and eyes of our guides we understand in depth.
