Northern Spain · 7 days · 90 miles · solo loop
Picos de Europa Hiking Guide
In October 2019 I hiked alone for seven days around the Picos de Europa National Park in northern Spain: about 90 miles from the top of the Fuente Dé cable car past the Naranjo de Bulnes, down the Cares gorge and over the western massif, and back. It was a very difficult trail, and in 2020 I called it my favorite hike to date. This guide has my GPS files, maps and notes for every day, the refuges and villages, the park's new camping rules, and a version of the loop with a bed every night.
What's inside
- All seven days. Stats, time to allow, my notes, the trail, where to get off, a map with an elevation profile, and links to that day in both my films.
- My GPX files. My own recordings for each day and the full loop, with waypoints for the refuges, villages, the water taps I marked and food stops, ready for AllTrails, Gaia GPS, Garmin or Organic Maps.
- Where to sleep. The park's 2026 bivouac and camping rules in plain terms, why you shouldn't copy my three camps, and the refuges and villages instead.
- The refuge version. A 9-day plan built from my GPS line that sleeps in refuges and villages every night.
- Refuges and villages. Every refuge on the loop with phone, season, 2026 prices where published and how to book, plus what I said about each one.
- Getting there and around. The Fuente Dé cable car with 2026 prices and hours, the Funicular de Bulnes, and the summer buses to Poncebos, Sotres and Caín.
- Food, water and safety. Where I ate and found water, the guard dogs, fog, the Cares rockfall, and the steep and exposed places.
- Before you go and a trip sheet. One page of year-to-year checks and a printable one-page summary of the whole loop.
Look inside
The details
- Format
- A 64-page PDF sized for a phone (A5, prints fine too) and a folder of GPX files, in one zip download.
- Edition
- 2027 season edition, updated September 2026.
- Delivery
- Instant. After you pay you get a private download link. Bookmark it to download again on any device.
- Payment
- Secure checkout through Stripe. The price is in US dollars, and sales tax or VAT is added where it applies.
- Questions
- Email kraig@kraigadams.com.
Get the next guide
I'm making guides for more of my hikes, and I host a group trip about once a year. Get an email when a new guide or trip is out. A few emails a year.