Caín / Poncebos · Picos de Europa · Spain

Hotel Garganta del Cares

gorgehiking trailnaturegoogle verified

challenging

8/10

best: spring, autumn, early morning

dramatic, wild, exhilarating

A local would say...

This gorge path was blasted into a vertical cliff face to carry water pipes — the engineers basically invented adventure hiking by accident.

The Garganta del Cares gorge walk is the most famous trail in the Picos de Europa, a 12km route carved into vertiginous cliff faces above the roaring Cares river, passing through tunnels and over bridges with sheer 1000-metre drops on one side and the jagged limestone peaks of the Picos on the other. The path was originally built to service a hydroelectric canal and is wide enough for most walkers but not for those who fear heights.