Accommodation and Meals:
We spend the week at the small, family-run Hotel Torrecerredo, which is just five minutes from the centre of the rural village of Arenas De Cabrales. It is ideally situated for anyone wishing to visit the Picos de Europa National Park or the beautiful beaches and fishing ports of the ‘Costa Verde’. As well as being predominantly locally staffed, the hotel also strives to buy the majority of its produce used for meals from local suppliers. The owners of the hotel also grow some of their own vegetables and you will be able to sample these in meals during the week. Meals provided are plentiful and a great chance to get in touch with cuisine in the Picos. The area is famous for its gold-medal-winning blue cheese, Queso Cabrales, which is matured in some of the thousands of deep limestone caves that dot the hills. Lesser known, but equally appealing is the local lamb Cordero al la Menta and a wholesome bean stew, Fabada Asturiana. Fresh fish comes from the coast at Llanes and Ribadesella, half an hour's drive away.

Activity:
Few vacations have as little detrimental impact on the environment and local residents as a walking trip. Erosion on and adjacent to popular paths is a growing problem in certain places and therefore our trip leaders encourage clients to stick to advised routes in order to minimise this. Your local guide knows the Picos so well that you will be able to take unmarked routes and avoid other groups entirely.We do believe in leaving no more than footprints, although this tour actively encourages guests to talk to local people, visit local cafes and restaurants and to use shops to buy handicrafts.

Water:
Water is a really important issue with active trips and whilst we must stay hydrated, it is also vital that we have a system for providing clean water without causing lots of waste with plastic bottles. We suggest that instead of repeatedly buying bottled water, guests should pack a refillable water bottle as the water at the hotel is drinkable and your guide will be able to advise where you can fill them up during the hikes.

Community:
We suppport the community by using businesses in the village. Due to its location, our using local restaurants (at least one a week is scheduled), purchasing from local shops and using local transfers, is a very important source of income for many people here. Even profit made from buying locally produced souvenirs is significant for artisans in the village; handmade clogs, pottery and walking sticks are all on sale. Day 5 is free and often clients use this time to try an optional excursion, like caving, canoeing and canyoning. Again, this brings business and income to many companies in the region.

UK Office:
It all starts at home so we have first worked at reducing our carbon footprint in our UK Offices. Through energy conservation measures and recycling policies, we are proud to be actively reducing the waste produced and our impact on the environment. We support various projects all over the world to try and give something back to the places we visit.

Group Size:
This small group tour has a maximum of 16 participants, meaning that we have a low impact on the environments and communities we visit and are able to ensure that we do not disrupt or lead to the displacement of local people. The small number also allows us to stay in unique, family-run hotels that cannot benefit from coach tours and other mass tourism due to their limited sizes.