down to a fountain and picnic area just below the hamlet and join a dirt road heading southeast. The signs at this point direct you along the PR-19. PR indicates a short walking trail, ‘Sendero de Pequeño Recorrido’ in Spanish.
The route follows the south side of a valley with open pastures to the left and the Picos de Mampodre to the right.
Stay on the dirt road, cross a low pass and head down into Maraña nestling under the cliffs of the Peña Hoguera. The views south of Peñas Mediodía (2192m) from within the village are excellent.
Maraña has a bar, a very small shop and cabin-style accommodation at the Cabañas Patagonicas (see www.booking.com).
Parque Regional de Picos Europa
Head east out of Maraña along the main road for about 600 metres. Leave the road just beyond footpath signs heading north, cross an old bridge and continue east along the edge of pastures to the little village of Acebedo.
The route enters Acebedo avoiding the main road and crosses a bridge over a small river in the village centre. Head southwest out of the village up an ever-steepening dirt road and follow it west for about a kilometre, towards the Peñas Mediodía. Turn south, staying on the same dirt road, and head up a valley into increasingly dramatic mountains. After 5km the dirt road splits. Turn left here and climb in an easterly direction. The landscape becomes open and moor-like with amazing views back into the Picos de Mampodre. Just before the top of the pass, leave the dirt road, which heads north up to the top of the ridge, and turn south to the pass, the Collado de Lois.
Cross the pass and follow a well-defined path down, initially through trees, and then across open pasture, to a stream joining a route that comes down from a refuge to the east. Follow a path running along a tight valley, initially along the side of a stream, and head south, then west, all the way to the hamlet of Lois in the centre of which stands a large baroque-style church (called the Mountain Cathedral, Catedral de la Montaña, for its size compared with the small village).
From Lois follow a road east and then south, through a narrow gorge with a river running along the bottom, through Ciguera, all the way to Salamon.
Salamon is another tiny village with accommodation in a casa rural, the Hospedería de Salamon (987 710 806, www.hospederiadesalamon.es)
STAGE 2
Salamon to Prioro
| Start | Hospedería de Salamon, Salamon (1114m) |
| Distance | 19.5km |
| Ascent/Descent | 1020m/970m |
| Grade | 3/4 |
| Walking time | 7hr 20min |
| Maximum altitude | 1583m |
Although not long, Stage 2 crosses three passes and a tackles a significant amount of climb. Apart from Las Salas there is nowhere to stop on the way so start early and aim to get to the Prioro in time for a late lunch.
Turn right from the Hospedería de Salamon and walk down the road to a bridge. Cross the bridge and turn right, head northeast through Salamon and climb along a concrete road to the edge of the village and take a right fork up the side of the valley. The trail zigs-zags its way steeply up through trees before levelling out on the final approach to the pass, the Collado del Pando.
Crossing the Collado del Pando
Cross the pass and follow a path that switches from the left-hand side of valley to the right before descending down along a beautiful old track. It passes a ‘chozo’, a traditional thatched shepherd’s refuge, and heads down through evergreen oaks, Pyrenean or Holm, to the village of Las Salas. Watch out for deer in the trees.
Las Salas is a small village located on the first significant road on the route. There is accommodation and food at the hostal/bar, Hostal las Pintas (987 71 08 33) and the rural tourism centre, the Centro de Turismo Rural Vegalion (see www.booking.com). There are also signs there for St James’s Way.
Follow the road past the hostal, turn right and cross the bridge over the Río Esla. Head east alongside the river. After a kilometre, on the other side of the river, the great wall of the dam that holds back the waters of the Riaño reservoir should be visible.
Leave the river and follow a path alongside a stream to a bridge and onto a road. Follow the road for 2km to the village of Remolina.
Remolina has no shops but it does have a particularly ugly modern church grafted onto the foundations of a much older one.
In the centre of the village, at the fountain, turn left off the road joining an ancient path that leaves the village and heads up through trees along the north side of the valley. It’s a beautiful climb with great views through gaps in the trees to the limestone cliffs on other side of the valley. 800 metres from Remolina, and after 200m of ascent, the route reaches a gate where the path splits: take the left fork. There is a particularly good viewing point just before the gate. By the time you have reached the pass, the Collada de Mostagerosa, you will have climbed nearly 500m.
From the top of the pass, to the east, you can just see Tejerina the village in the bottom of the next valley. Although it doesn’t look far the route to it is indirect. After the pass leave the dirt road and follow a path through broom and scrub. Initially it’s easy to follow but as it turns directly down the valley side, alongside a stream, it becomes overgrown, and the waymarks are difficult to find. The waymarks re-emerge about 100 metres below the point at which the route follows the stream but on the other side.
The GR1 then contours around the valley heading south and away from Tejerina along a dirt road before switching back on itself along an ancient tree-lined path towards the village. After 600 metres cross a dirt road and continue north through a pasture. The waymarks are again difficult to follow. After 200 metres, and on the other side of the pasture, the route runs alongside an old wall, a path and irrigation canal heading east and down towards Tejerina. Approaching the village the path merges with the irrigation canal and the route will almost certainly be wet and muddy.
Tejerina is a small village with no services. Watch out for the work of a local sculptor who has had some fun with the drinking fountains.
Arriving at the church, follow the road south out of the village for about 200 metres and turn left off the road onto a path. The path climbs gradually around an open hillside, heading south, before turning and crossing the pass, the Collado der Corral de los Lobos (site of an ancient wolf trap). On the other side of the pass the route joins a dirt road that it follows all the way down to Prioro.
Prioro is a village with a limited range of services including a cafeteria/bar ‘El Pando’, a restaurant ‘Las Conjas’ and a bread shop. There are three casa rurals that provide rooms on a nightly basis – the Molino de Prioro (987 71 55 12), the El Cueto Apartmentos (987 533 477) and the Casa Rural El Serrano (659 97 56 45) – the last two are both available through Booking.com.
STAGE 3
Prioro to Camporredondo de Alba
| Start | Calle la Iglesia, Prioro (1075m) |
| Distance | 24.5km |
| Ascent/Descent | 960m/810m |
| Grade | 4/4 |
| Walking time | 8hr
|
