Ah! Honest, natural, fabulous, unknown, much loved ASTURIAS

Thankfully and magnificently unspoilt, this mountain paradise steeped in tradition is the epitome of Green Spain.

Once an independent kingdom whose Christian nobles resisted the Moorish invaders, its people live by the labours of farming. They know the worth of their land and care for it unlike anywhere else in the country.

The picture-book mountains of the Picos de Europa will restore the spirits and lift the heart of the most jaded hiker. Cows with clonking bells graze their alpine pastures while deep valleys thicken greenly with forest.

Here is the last refuge of the Spanish brown bear. It is zealously protected by the Asturian principality, although occasionally hunted photographically by certain tourist companies whose vehicles only disturb their habitat. The bears are respected by the locals, for whom they represent a link with history and patria, homeland.


This land is goodness through and through. The Asturians are of a hard-working, humble stock – farmers, shepherds, fishermen – not the exuberant, high-spirited Spanish you will find elsewhere, but people attached to their traditions and a culture of old-fashioned courtesy and reserve. If their manner denotes a quietly spoken pride in their handsome land, their passion for it is as true and fast as the rivers of crystal-clear water that run across its green fields to find a salty home in the ocean.

Asturias sits quietly wedged between Galicia and Cantabria, from where it looks out on the Bay of Biscay. Its rugged northern coast of endless sandy beaches and coves is washed by the Atlantic’s refreshing waves and punctuated by unhurried fishing villages.
The visitor is welcome to enjoy and appreciate country and gastronomy, yet Asturias is not the kind of place to place value on commercial “development”. Stone cottages have traditionally made for a low-key kind of rural tourism, popular with a number of Spanish who come to hike places that most foreigners still know nothing about.

The mysterious Sierra del Sueve is a typically unknown yet beautiful mountain area, right by the coast, from where sea mists rise to work a kind of magic. Gentle yet wild, you will find here the unique asturcón horse of Asturias.


Visitors from abroad are few and far between: many who might dearly love to roam this marvellous mountain principality are simply unaware of what it has to offer, or are unsure of where to go, where to stay. But comfortable, tasteful options are there, and in our accommodation portfolio of villas in Asturias we will show you the ones we liked enough to select.

The spectacularly pretty Picos de Europa have nothing to envy the Alps. Indeed, while the latter have succumbed to the environmental trashing meted out by ski stations, the Picos de Europa National Park is unique in sustaining whole villages, in a beautiful state of conservation, within its bounds. Conjoined to high, jagged peaks, the serrated ridges of its snowy massifs sweep down to elm and beech and Pyrenean oak woodland in valleys, and to hay meadows alive with wild orchids. Birdlife includes the golden eagle, black kite and the rare capercaillie; there are 154 types of butterfly and seventy different mammals.

Don’t miss the high lakes! You set out from a large grotto at Covadonga, known as the Holy Cave, where a Sanctuary is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and the tomb of King Pelayo is to be found. It was Pelayo’s victory over the Moors at the Battle of Covadonga in 722 AD that set the Christians on their way to the reconquest of Spain, and so the spot has a distinct historical resonance.

A waterfall gushes down from directly beneath the cave. From here, the winding route up to the Covadonga Lakes takes some beating for sheer natural spectacle. Cyclists may be already familiar with this 12 km climb – a testing stage in the Vuelta de España – the rest of us will probably prefer to drive it. You reach Lake Enol at 1,070 m to find horses and cattle grazing the high pastures; higher still at 1,108 m, Lake Ercina’s glacial waters shimmer in changing shades of colour.

Holiday cottages within easy reach of the Picos can be found in two areas of outstanding natural beauty: the Cider Country between Nava and Piloña, and the rich farmland south of the fishing village of Llanes, just before the rise of the mountains.

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Cider Country

In Cider Country, the area around Espinaredo stands out as a treasure. It is reached by following the rushing, trout-filled River Infierno up its winding valley, with mountains all around. In this magical location, one half expects one of Asturia’s legendary duendes, (elves or goblins), to step out from behind a tree or river boulder. Among the old houses are horréos—pillared granaries—some of which date back to the 16th century.

Asturian cider, lighter and less alcoholic than its English Somerset counterpart, is drunk with meals, with relish and at the drop of a hat. More than just a drink to the Asturians, it has its own ritual pouring on which depends both its taste and its power to refresh. Cider accompanies traditional home-cooked fabada (bean stew) to a T and harmonizes famously with local Cabrales cheese.

It’s a short (20 km) drive from the coast, where a visit to the little old port of Lastres is recommended, and 50 km from Oviedo, Asturia's interesting and cultured capital with its pre-Romanic monuments and cathedral.

While the Picos are Asturias’ high point, there are several Natural Parks that provide exceptional walking opportunities. Of these, special mention must go to the exceptional Redes Natural Park, which borders Cider Country south of Piloña. This is a UNESCO world heritage site where glacier and rain have gorged out a fascinating 377 km² of craggy limestone.
There are caves and grasslands, broad valleys and wooded hillsides. Woodland of beech and white oak covers 40% of a territory whose altitude varies 5,000 feet and whose precious wealth of bird, reptile and animal life cannot be over-emphasized. Their habitat may be precarious, but Egyptian vultures share this world with deer, chamois, brown bears and wolves.

Asturia’s climate (a little warmer than Britain and with its fair share of rain) may not be Andalucia’s, but look what you get by way of return!

Llanes
 
The north-east offers another delightful enclave: the picturesque area sandwiched between sandy beaches near Llanes and the Picos de Europa – and within minutes’ drive of each.

Llanes is an elegant and lively fishing village where you can enjoy strolls along the cliffs, the riverside or the harbour to the lighthouse, past Basque sculptor Agustín Ibarrola's Cubes of Memory, and dine excellently at a choice of bars and restaurants along the cobbled streets of the old town.

At the Indianos Museum in nearby Colombres, you can learn about how the Asturian emigrants who made their fortune in South America came back to build proud homes. And at Puertas de Vidiago, 12 km from Llanes, is the Peña Tú sandstone Idol. Here you can see prehistoric paintings and engravings. No fewer than fifty ancient burial grounds have so far been discovered here at the Sierra de Borbolla.

Going back some 65 million years, dinosaur footprints are to be found along the coastline between Ribadesella and the historical city of Gijón, Asturia’s main port.

Asturias has its own airport (also called Oviedo Airport) near Avilés, the site of a remarkable architectural project by Brazilian Oscar Niemeyer, set to rival Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum. His International Cultural Centre will be the showpiece of a large-scale scheme to regenerate the Avilés waterfront.

The other international port of entry is Santander in neighbouring Cantabria, by air or by ferry.

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