Route by car to enjoy the Somiedo Natural Park in Asturias
Overshadowed by its neighbor the Picos de Europa, the Somiedo Natural Park is one of those unknown places in Spain that deserves greater recognition.
The complicated topography of the area has made these places almost inaccessible, so human action is almost non-existent and its natural beauty has been kept safe.
Thanks to this, it is today one of the few places in Europe where brown bears can be found in the wild. If you are interested in seeing them, the best thing to do is to take this excursion to see bears in Somiedo.
The best thing to see in Somiedo Park
The Lakes of Saliencia
The Saliencia Lakes are a series of lakes of glacial origin less famous than those of Covadonga but with a charm as special as those.
They are the Negro, Cerveriz, de la Mina and de la Cueva lakes and they are connected by glacial valleys. To get to know them, we recommend you take this hiking tour through the Saliencia Lakes.
The first of them, also called Lago de Calabazosa, is the main one of all and the deepest in Asturias.
To get to the Saliencia Lakes, you must take a winding and narrow road that takes you, leaving great views, to the Alto de la Farrapona, where there is a car park and part of a path that takes you to the Saliencia Lakes. The route is perfectly indicated, crossing a spectacular landscape along a path that is reddish in color due to the old iron mines that were in the area.
Valley lake
The Lago del Valle is very close to the previous lakes and can be visited following the same route. But also, and it is the best way to visit it, it can be reached from Valle del Lago.
Valle del Lago can be reached through a beautiful mountain road that starts in Pola de Somiedo, narrow with curves but leaving behind an exceptional landscape. From there, a trail of about 6km starts that takes you to the Lago del Valle.
It is the largest lake in the Cantabrian mountain range, with 24 hectares of extension, it has a glacial origin and a horseshoe shape and has a small islet inside.
From the town of Valle del Lago you can take this hiking tour through the Somiedo Park, which takes you through the most interesting places.
The Braña of La Pornacal
The brañas are grass meadows that are used by herds in summer. The typical construction of the brañas are the teitos cabins, stone constructions with a vegetable roof in which the shepherds took refuge.
There are some brañas that are worth visiting, although they are not very accessible and you have to walk quite a bit to get to them.
The best preserved braña is La Pornacal, made up of 32 small hills and the largest. Villar de Vildas is the town from which you visit.
The viewpoint of La Peral
In addition to its lakes and brañas, there are many points of interest and many routes to do in Somiedo. We also recommend going to the different viewpoints such as La Peral.
La Peral cannot be accessed by car, unless you are a resident, and you must leave it in a small car park at the gates of the town.
From there you have to walk along a paved road, uphill yes, but very pleasant since the prevailing silence broken only by the birds and some cows and horses made you feel very calm.
If you want to obtain more information and find other hiking routes to do, you can visit the official page of the Somiedo Natural Park.
