Cares Gorge Trail

The Cares river separates the western and central massifs of the Picos de Europa in a gorge up to fifteen hundred metres deep, and between 1916 and 1921 workers cut a channel through it to carry water to a power station, along with a maintenance path blasted into the rock face. That path is now the Ruta del Cares: about twelve kilometres each way between Poncebos and Cain, mostly level but running along a ledge with drops of two hundred metres or more and no railing for long sections, passing through tunnels and over bridges. It is the most walked mountain route in Spain, with several thousand people a day in August, which is part of the experience and not in a good way.

What you'll find

• The cut ledge - a path blasted into the gorge wall for the water channel.
• The tunnels and bridges - crossings and cuttings along the route.
• The gorge depth - walls rising over a thousand metres above the river.
• The water channel - the hydroelectric conduit the path was built to serve.

When to go

May to October; the route is walkable year-round but ice and rockfall make winter dangerous. Early morning avoids both heat and the worst of the crowds, which in August are severe.

Things to know

It is a there-and-back walk of twenty-four kilometres if done in full, and there is no transport between the two ends without a long drive around. There are unfenced drops throughout and rockfall is a real hazard. Goats have learned to take food from bags.

Nearby

Poncebos and the Bulnes funicular are at the northern end; Cain and Posada de Valdeon are south.