This 8-day 100-115km (65-75mi) loop in Parque Nacional de Los Picos de Europa will take you through the most spectecular parts of the park, including the popular Cares Gorge and the scenic Naranjo de Bulnes peak, but also the most remote and wild part of the park deep in the Cornión massif. 
This guide contains everything you need to know to do this hike.

This is the guide for overnights in refuges. If you prefer to wild camp, see the camping guide.

What this guide includes:
- day-by-day itinerary with the unique route, distances, elevation gain, overnight options and the best refuges;
- custom Google Maps with all the important locations (campsites, grocery stores, view points, trails, refuges);
- gpx-track of the route;
- all the practical information: how to get there, trail conditions, weather, geography and more.

Get an impression on Youtube/harmenhoek.

Posada de Valdeón, Spain

Espinama, Spain

Fuente Dé, Spain

Bilbao, Spain

Caín de Valdeón, Spain

Bulnes, Spain

Cordiñanes de Valdeón, Spain

Sotres, Spain

Backpacking Los Picos de Europa in 7-8 days (refuges)

This trek will undoubtebly be hard, but I assure you the beauty of the scenery will be worth it!

Hiking Alone 150km in Los Picos de Europa.

Backpacking Los Picos de Europa (refuges) Map - Google My Maps

GPX file with route

Overnight: many options in Sotres. For example: Albergue Peña Castil. 

We start this hike in Fuenté De, a small touristy town at the end of the road with a campground, hotel, some restaurants and of course the cable car into Los Picos. The views from Fuenté De looking up to Los Picos are amazing.

Route: Sotres into the Urrieles to Jou de los Cabrones via Refugio Vega de Urriellu

Elevation: 1500m (4800ft) | -400m (-1500ft)

Route: Jou de los Cabrones to Caín via Bulnes

Elevation: 400m (1400ft) | -2100m (-6800ft)

Overnight: many options! For example: Albergue El Diablo de la Peña Alojamiento rural

Route: Cain into the Cornión massif to Refugio Vega de Airo

Elevation: 1300m (4100ft) | -100m (-300ft)

Route: Refugio Vega de Airo (or Vega de Enol) to Refugio Vegarredonda

Route: Refugio Vegarredonda to Refugio Vegabaño via Cabaña Vega Huerta

Route: Refugio Vegabaño to Refugio Jermoso via via Posada de Valdeón

Overnight: Refugio Jermoso (also called Diego Mella)

From the refuge it's a 300m (1000ft) climb up the mountain through the forest. The decent is quite overgrown. At the start of the descent, take the right trail on the intersection. The left one is fine at first, but non-existent for the rest. It's marked in the custom Google Maps.

Route: Refugio Jermoso to El Portal de Picos to Cabaña Veronica

The final stage! Don't underestimate this one based on it's distance, it has some real technical sections in it. And fill up on water at the refuge, because there won't be any till in Fuente Dé.

I hope you have a great time exploring this area. You can read about my experience in my travel itinerary: 

My trail experience (camping)

If you have questions or are missing something here, please contact me. And I'm eager to know about your experience! Have fun!

I flew from Amsterdam (AMS) to Bilbao (BIO).

From Bilbao I took a 7am 90min pre-booked bus ride for 8EUR to Santander. These busses go at least 4 times a day:

From the same underground bus station in Santander I took a bus 3.5 hour bus ride 2 hours later to Fuente Dé. I bought a ticket on the bus (~10EUR). Time schedules for these buses can be found here: 

The first night I stayed in a small hotel in the old part of Bilbao (La Estrella Ostatu). The second night I stayed in a small hotel in Camaleño (Hostal El Caserío), 16 kilometers down the road from Fuenté Dé. I left my extra backpack in the hotel. From Camaleño I took the bus from the day of the first hike at 8:30 (same bus as the day before). There is also a trail going up from Camaleño into Los Picos, but it is a lot longer, and with several hundred meters more of elevation gain (+ you'll miss the discouraging views of the steep walls of Los Picos in Fuente Dé).

The day of my return I lifted back to Camaleño (otherwise I had to wait 3 hours for the bus) and stayed in the same hotel as before. The next morning I took the same route back to Bilbao. There's only one road between Fuenté Dé and only one bus line.

Los Picos de Europa is a national park in the north of Spain, 25 kilometers from the coast as the crow flies. The mountain range spans 30 kilometers east to west, 15 kilometers north to south, but the mountains of Los Picos merge into the neighbouring hills and mountains.

There are 3 mountain ranges in Los Picos separated by valleys. The eastern mountain range is called Ándara and is the smallest, least impressive and least visited part of the park.

The central massif is called Urrieles and in it lies the highest point in the park (and all of northern Spain) (Torre Cerredo, 2648m). The central part is the most visited park, and the most rough part.

The western massif called Cornión, is the largest, most varied and most remote of the three ranges. My personal favorite part.

There are 5 main villages you pass through on the loop: Fuente Dé, Sotres, Bulnes, Caín and Posada de Valdeón. In Posada de Valdeón and Caín are small supermarkets, the other places have multiple of restaurants and overnight options. Scattered through the mountains are plenty of refuges that offer overnight stay and food. During my 8-day loop I must have passed at least a dozen of them; enough options.

Water is in abundance in the valleys, but higher up in the mountains it is scarce. Refuges are usually located springs (with the exception of Cabaña Veronica), and are a good place to aim for to fill up on water each day. Bringing a water filter is not necessary, but I recommend it, especially when wild camping.

Overnight camping (bivaoucking) is allowed in Spain but only above 1600 meters and only one hour befores sunset, and one hour after sunrise. Camping close to refuges is also possible in most occasions. Furthermore, it is allowed to camp in areas immediately surrounding the villages, for example the fields in the village center of Caín.

The terrain on the loop I did is difficult. Many trails are unmarked, and there are sections where you need to use hands and feet. There are easier options when you stick to the main marked trails, but compared to other places I've been, it's difficult terrain. Characteristic to Los Picos are the large areas of exposed rock (check the satellite view on the map above). There are no trees above 1500-1800m, although there is a lot of grass higher up (and thus cattle).

The weather in Los Picos is highly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean (which is as the crow flies just 20-30km away), and thus can be unpredictable and changing fast. Most rainfall occurs in the winter and spring, with the summers being relatively dry. Summer temperatures average around 21°C (70°F). But, as I experienced myself, one day it can feel like 30°C with the sun high in the sky and no wind, the next day it can be windy and rainy feeling like 5°C. Night temperatures in the summer can dip down below 10°C. The humid air from the Atlantic creates also creates of the most spectacular cloud effects: the sea of low clouds filling the valleys in the late afternoon and night. It is not uncommon to walk up from the valleys in cloud and suddenly come out into bright sunshine at around 1500m. But the same humid air also gives rise to the afternoon thunder storms (although not as violent as in the Pyrenees or Alpes). There's normally snow in the mountains from late October into early April, although snow can stay on the higher trails well into June.

More information about the geography and climate in Los Picos:

More information on camping, and other park related stuff: 

More information about geography and climate in Los Picos

Parque Nacional Picos de Europa – Asturias-Cantabria-Castilla y León – Espacio Protegido – Web oficial del Parque Nacional Picos de Europa – Picos de Europa National Park official site

Note that you can only see the schedule within the current season and that this website is outdated and slow. These buses go 4 times a day in the summer. You might need to transfer to a smaller bus in Potes.

Bus schedules from and to Los Picos

Bus travel Bilbao to Santander (Alsa)

Below you'll find a day-by-day itinerary with distances, elevation gain and the recommended camping spots. At the end you'll find extra information on how to get to the park and everything you might need to know about the park.

Duration: 8 days, 7 nights (shortcuts possible)

This 8-day 100km loop in Parque Nacional de Los Picos de Europa will take you through the most spectecular parts of the park, including the popular Cares Gorge, the ..., but also the most remote and wild part of the park deep in the Cornión massif. 
This guide contains everything you need to know to do this hike.

This guide is for wild camping on the most beautiful locations in the park. If you prefer to stay to stay only in refuges, see the refuges guide.

What this guide includes:
- day-by-day itinerary with the unique route, distances, elevation gain, overnight options, possible shortcuts and the best campsites (or refuges);
- custom Google Maps with the daily route and all the important locations (camping locations, water, resupplies, vistas, refuges);
- gpx-track of the route;
- all the practical information: how to get there, trail conditions, weather, geography and more.

Get an impression on Youtube/harmenhoek

Backpacking Los Picos de Europa in 7-8 days (camping)

Hostal Casa Abascal

Quesería Picos de Europa

Bar Mirador Lallende

Supermercado La Ruta

Overnight 1: Albergue Peña Castil

Overnight 1 (option 2): Casetón de Andara

Overnight 2: Refugio Jou de los Cabrones (2.034 m.)

Overnight 3: Albergue El Diablo de la Peña Alojamiento rural

Overnight 4: Refugio Vega de Ario (1630 m.)

Overnight 4 (option 2): Refugio Vega de Enol

Overnight 5: Refugio Vegarredonda (1.460 m.)

Overnight 6: Refugio de Montaña Vegabaño

Overnight 7: Refugio Diego Mella / Collado Jermoso

hotel rural casa cipriano

Albergue Peña Castil

Casetón de Andara

Refugio Jou de los Cabrones (2.034 m.)

Albergue El Diablo de la Peña Alojamiento rural

Refugio Vega de Ario (1630 m.)

Refugio Vega de Enol

Refugio Vegarredonda (1.460 m.)

Refugio de Montaña Vegabaño

Refugio Diego Mella / Collado Jermoso

Great beacuse of the hike/trip and all the information you share. And all the tips, do’s en don’ts

Backpacking Los Picos de Europa in 7-8 days (refuges)

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