Cares Route

The Cares Route is a well known mountain trail in the National Park of Picos de Europa, in the Asturian section accessible from Bulnes and Poncebos. It is a linear route of about 20 km round trip according to the record of the Club of the Most Beautiful Villages of Spain, associated with the great gorge carved by the Cares River and a landscape of gorges, meadows and limestone walls of strong verticality. The most characteristic feature of the route is the fit between rock and river, with continuous views over the canyon and passages carved into the hillside. The trail is highly appreciated for its scenic value and for offering a relatively accessible mountain experience in a high Atlantic mountain environment, where the abrupt relief and limestone geology are the main protagonists. Its interest is also historical and territorial: the route links the Bulnes environment with the Poncebos-Caín axis, in an area where hiking coexists with very isolated rural villages and with strong access constraints. Different guidebooks describe it as one of the most emblematic excursions in the Picos de Europa and one of the most visited in the north of the peninsula. For Bulnes, the Cares Route reinforces its role as an entry point to a protected landscape with a great hiking reputation. Its value is not in an isolated monument, but in the combination of trail, relief and gorge, which explains why it is still among the most sought-after routes to visit Cabrales and the heart of the Picos de Europa.