Picos de Europa National Park is where Spain comes alive with jagged limestone turrets thrusting skywards whilst mile deep canyons and unexplored subterranean caves carve out hollows below. Wolves and bears are known to inhabit pine and beech forests, but you're more likely to glimpse eagles, buzzards and vultures wheeling on high whilst chamois, sheep and goats graze beneath. The dairy farmers of the Picos know full well the qualities of mild and moist conditions with punchy piquant blue cheese a direct result of cows consuming the plentiful pastures of the Asturias. Cable cars whisk you up to over 1,800m where high altitude walking routes take in the phenomenal surrounding peaks, often still snow dusted in summer.
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the picos de Europa isn't spain for the tourists, it's spain for the purists, and invites a bite into mountain life to enhance language skills and heighten senses.
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Funicular railways descend into tiny, out of the way mountain villages where time stands still and travelers are welcomed in Spanish making phrase books as essential as waterproofs and camera. This is the real Spain, so keep it to yourself.
Read on in our Picos de Europa travel guide.
