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Activities in the Valdeón Valley
What to do in Picos de Europa?
It is no coincidence that adventurers and nature lovers are eager to do outdoor activities in the Valdeón Valley. At Camping el Cares we are at your disposal to help you make the most of your stay.
Nature awakens in us genuine feelings that can only be lived in full contact with it. In fact, from time to time, our body needs a dose of fresh air and energy that only an experience in the heart of nature can give us.
A truly refreshing experience in the heart of nature, activities in the Valdeón Valley
Sometimes, it is difficult to escape from daily life in the most comforting way. However, In the Picos de Europa National Park, the only thing you will find is nature in all its splendor.
Chiefly, Land, water, vegetation, and native fauna form part of the mountain activities in the Valdeón Valley. Such as the Senda del Cares, a route of moderate difficulty made up of two stages. One of the stages, called The Divine Gorge, is made for the more intrepid, with part of the route through impressive heights, tunnels, and bridges that cross the Cares.
Cares Trail (full description)
Moreover, the natural area surrounding the campsite is ideal for hiking routes and activities with which anyone can discover the wonderful mountains and forests that make up the Valdeón Valley, a natural and unspoiled environment that will complete the experience of anyone looking for an energizing break.
Feel thrilling vertigo to get your adrenaline pumping, activities in the Valdeón Valley.
Via Ferrata of Cordiñanes
On the other hand, the Via Ferrata is another kind of activity to do. This one is of K4 difficulty. Even you can avoid the most difficult part. It is a mostly aerial route, made for the most daring, which transmits thrilling sensations. Ideal for beginners in sports such as climbing.
For climbing enthusiasts, in the village of Cordiñanes, next to the Ferrata, you will find a sport climbing area, as well as some classic climbing routes on the Peña de la Silla, the Vega de Liordes, and Remoña, and countless boulders, (stone blocks or small walls). There is also a climbing wall in the pavilion of Posada de Valdeón, where you can practice a bit if the weather is bad.
Canyoning in Picos de Europa
Canyoning in the heart of Picos de Europa, enjoying natural slides that the water has carved over the years; hilarious jumps, defying vertigo; or rappelling down with the help and safety offered by a specialised guide; makes us feel more than alive. Not to mention the exhilaration that comes from running through such beautiful vegetation and such superb crags.
Develops healthy leisure activities
Horse riding routes through the forests of Valdeón
But for those who are looking for quieter activities, there are also possibilities, such as horse riding routes, something that puts us in contact with nature and animal life at the same time and that will allow the camper to connect with the horse, giving him an indelible knowledge of its nobility towards the human being.
Interpreted routes around the Cares campsite, ECO-circuit
Hiking is a very healthy activities that you can also do in the Valdeón Valley, it clears your mind, helps to build personal relationships, improves your mood, and boosts your concentration… In addition to the intrinsic benefits of the activity, from Camping el Cares, we want to enrich the experience. We have developed outings designed so that you can interpret nature for yourself.
Identifying traces, finding your way through the forest or discovering the secrets that this environment reveals to us, are some of your most pressing concerns. One of their most ambitious objectives is to share their environmental sensitivity. With the aim that, above all, the youngest children learn to love and respect their environment.
We have devised a form of sustainable entertainment, which we refer to as the “ECO circuit”, in which, against a background of environmental education and fun, and through workshops, routes and treasure hunts, we aim to entertain, amuse and teach.
We are sure that many, after visiting us, will want to make nature their way of life.
Discover the diversity and liveliness of Picos de Europa
We are in a protected area, a natural paradise, where there is an abundance of fauna and flora of great interest. If we keep silent and open our senses, it will not be difficult for us to discover every detail of a living landscape that invades and comforts us. This is another observation activities that you can do in the Valdeón Valley.
Enchanting forests
The explosion of spring life offers us an impressive visual spectacle, more than 1400 species of flora inhabit the Picos de Europa. These are distributed throughout the territory according to altitude and soil type. So we can find a great variety of orchids, blueberries, wild cherry trees, and lilies… among the best known.
The forests of beech, oak and hazel trees, which surround the Cares campsite, hide magical paths that show beautiful windows to the majestic peaks of the Central (Urrieles) and Western (Cornión) massifs of the Picos de Europa.
A butterfly paradise
Colorful butterflies flutter around us. In Prada de Valdeón alone, 80 different species have been identified in no more than one kilometer. This represents 35% of the total number of butterflies in Spain. Every year, many experts make use of this setting to study and discover these beautiful insects.
The salamander, a peculiar amphibian
The salamander is a common amphibian that, despite living out of the water, likes damp places. Its colours, yellow on a black background, are what make it so colorful and special among its sisters, as we can find up to 15 kinds of reptiles. The most abundant are the small, brown and fast lizards.
The red squirrel, a skillful acrobat
In autumn, when the leaves of the trees are browning, is when the red squirrel camouflages itself best and is most active, looking for fruit and food to get through the winter. They can be seen leaping like acrobats, skilfully from branch to branch.
The rut in autumn
In September, from the Cares campsite, we can witness the eerie bellowing of the deer in their fierce competition to breed with as many females as possible. Many tourists are attracted by the sight of this annual event, “la berrea”.
The majesty of the skies
If we look up into the sky, among the high peaks, we will find vultures circling overhead and sharpening their senses in search of food. If we are very lucky we will be able to see species such as the golden eagle and the capercaillie, as there are very few families left in the Picos de Europa.
The wallcreeper, despite its characteristic red wings that help to identify it, is not easy to come across, as it takes refuge in the inaccessible crevices of the steep limestone rock.
The great spotted woodpecker, the eagle owl, the peregrine falcon, and even the bearded vulture are some of the species that inhabit the Picos de Europa. With the bearded vulture, great efforts are being made to encourage its repopulation. Proof of this is the creation of the interpretation center in Benia de Onis, “The Mountains of the Bearded Vulture”. It is a space for meeting, participation, and awareness, highly recommended for getting to know and respecting the environment of the Picos de Europa.
The brown bear and the wolf, don’t let them tell you stories…
Although the brown bear moves through the surrounding forests, its great sense of smell keeps it away from humans. Although some years we have been lucky enough to see their tracks, and on some occasions, they have even eaten the beehives of Miguel Ángel, the beekeeper of Santa Marina.
With the wolf, there is a big controversy between the wolf and the farmers. Occasionally, the wolf has its fill of a herd animal, provoking unfriendly reactions and complaints from the livestock farmers. When the wolf populations were much more numerous in the past, the neighbors of Valdeón used to organize a wolf hunts. Using the traditional Chorco de los lobos (wolf trap), in order to reduce this threat. These organized activities to control the number of wolves in the Valdeón Valley have been banned since the 1960s.
The National Park has a team of people working to safeguard these magnificent ecosystems. But it is in the hands of each one of us to achieve this, respecting, caring for, and loving this environment that provides us with so much wealth.
