HORSEBACK TRAIL RIDE IN THE SPANISH PYRENEES
INDICATIVE ITINERARY *
Day 1: Meeting at 7 p.m. at the hotel in Tama. Meet your with your guide. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 2: Aravalle - Liébana. At 9 a.m., breakfast. The riders are picked up at the hotel at 10 a.m. for the transfer to Aravalle, 3 kilometers away to find the horses. Allocation and preparation of your horse with an explanation by your guide on dressage and riding handling. Departure on horseback through the Cillorigo Valley, 370 meters above sea level, passing through villages such as Armaño and Colio: village that retains its 18th century portal which, during the Spanish War of Independence, was the entrance to the cavalry. Your guide will tell you the legend of the demons of Colio! Lunch break in a shepherd's hut, picnic with regional products. After lunch, the afternoon on horseback takes you to Cabañes, one of the entrances to the Picos de Europa National Park. The horses spend the night there and the riders are taken back to the hotel. Dinner at the hotel with a tasting of new traditional dishes.
Day 3: Cabañes - Sotres. After a good breakfast, transfer to Cabañes to meet your horse. This ride begins with an ascent to Collado de Pelea, then descends to Bejes: a typical village of the Picos de Europa, whose main activities are the production of cattle and cheese. The typical cheese of this town is the Picón. This village is known for its traditional festival of San Carlos which is celebrated in years ending with 0 or 5 on the first Sunday of August during which a pilgrimage is made to the Picos San Carlos. You continue the day with a new ascent of the Vao (Valley) of the Wolves, a spectacular beech forest where the wolf and the Cantabrian capercaillie are present. Passing through the Jito de Escarandi, point of separation between Cantabria and Asturias, you end the day in Sotres at 1050 meters above sea level, where horses and riders will rest until the next day, in a magnificent hotel where you taste new delicious local products.
Day 4: Sotres - Fuente Dé. Breakfast at 9 a.m. At 10 am, visit of the cheese dairy and the cellar (subject to its opening). You then set off on horseback for a spectacular ride through the valley that divides the eastern massif and the central massif of the Picos de Europa. On either side of the path to Los Puertos De Áliva you enjoy the majestic "Picos". You arrive at the "raya" which again divides Cantabria and Asturias, which also knows a legend that your guide will be happy to tell you. You are approaching the entrance to the old crystal mines of Mánforas. This stage is part of the "Route of Reconquest": In the year 722, Don Pelayo defeated the Moors in the Battle of Covadonga. At noon, a delicious paella awaits you. Then you set off again with a descent through the beech forest. Evening stopover at the Parador de Fuente Dé hotel.
Day 5: Fuente Dé - Posada de Valdeón. Breakfast at 8:30 a.m., to then have the possibility of going up to the Fuente De cable car (source of the Deva river) for those who wish to contemplate magnificent panoramas. Once on horseback, you begin with an ascent to Alto de Valcavao, leaving Peña Remoña below and changing communities again, entering León. You arrive at the Pandetrave pass (1,562 meters), where a barbecue awaits you for the break enjoying a view of the central massif and the western massif of the Picos de Europa. After a good rest, you continue on horseback towards the Valdeón Valley, with beautiful views of the Cares River Gorge. Dinner and night at the Cumbres de Valdeón hotel.
Day 6: Posada de Valdeón - Llánaves de la Reina. Today you enter the territory of the brown bear, the chamois and the deer. You take the picnic in the panniers because access for the assistance car cannot take the shepherds' paths! You ride along streams, through green pastures, under the snow-capped peaks of Pico Coriscao (2235 meters). You then begin the descent towards the Llánaves de la Reina, "the lands of the Queen". Dinner where you can taste game.
Day 7: Llanaves de la Reina - Cosgaya. After breakfast, transfer to the farm where the horses rested for the night. For this last day on horseback, you go up to Puerto de San Glorio, an area well known for the presence of the bear which is protected there. Arriving at Collado Llesba and entering Cantabria, you can take a photo next to the Brown Bear Monument with spectacular views of the Picos de Europa. You continue through the Prao Cubo to end this trip in the village of Cosgaya. And to end the week, you have a farewell meal at the hotel's famous restaurant with a local stew: the "lebaniego".
Day 8: End after breakfast and departure.
* The itinerary is indicative, it can be modified in the event of weather imperatives or other imponderables.
