After traveling along the coast of Asturias, we head South to discover the Somiedo National Park, in the “valley of lakes”.
 
1. Houses and granaries typical of this region.
 

 
 
2. After spending a night in a small mountain campground in Valle de Lago, we set off on a lovely hike up the valley, towards the lakes. Along our walk, a beautiful wild iris.
 

 
 
3. Arrival at the lake.
 

 
 
4. Alpine pasture near the lake. We are only at 5,250 feet elevation but already at the tree line.
 

 
 
5. Picnic.
 

 
 
6. Lake plants.
 

 
 
7. Along the return hike.
 

 
 
The next day, we hit the road again to go to the lakes of Covadonga. We sleep in a parking lot under the sanctuary. The next morning, we discover that the road leading to the lakes is closed to private vehicles during summer. We park and go to buy tickets for the shuttle; arriving at 8:15 am at the gatehouse, the employee tells me with a large smile: “The next availability is at 4 pm”… It’s a bit of a cold shower! From then on, we give up and go to discover the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Covadonga.
 
8. Chapel on the cliff, next to the Virgin.
 

 
 
9. Kneeling pilgrims praying in front of the Holy Virgin.
 

 
 
10. The Basilica of Santa Maria la Real de Covalonga.
 

 
 
11. Crypt under the basilica.
 

 
 
After this visit, we decide to go and discover the Picos de Europa, magnificent limestone mountain range set back from the coast a little further east, and more particularly the Gorge of Cáres.
 
12. Stop on the road at Mirador del Pozo which offers a magnificent view of the mountain range.
 

 
 
But arriving at the Viesgo crossroads, the road is also blocked because there are too many people. Traveling in the middle of summer is sometimes frustrating!
 
Emile spots a funicular that goes up to Bulnes, apparently a small mountain village. We go back down the road for 1.5 mile to find a place to park, take the picnic, walk the 45 mintues to the departure station. There is an hour and a half wait but as it’s noon, I buy the tickets and we go to picnic on the banks of the Rio Cáres.
 
13. Arriving at the top of the funicular, the place turns out to be a real tourist trap! After barely 10 minutes of walking, we arrive in a former summer mountain village which has been completely transformed into a series of crowded tourist restaurants. After only 15 minutes, we have gone around and realize that there is nothing to see there except a small mountain chapel. We can’t even go in as it’s locked.
 

 
 
Back at the upper station of the funicular, we have to wait one and a half hour to be allowed to go back down and we reach VivaLaVida after 4pm. I then decide to go up the East fork of the valley, towards Sotres where I have spotted a high-altitude track. You will discover it in the next article! 😉