As a Fluent Spanish speaker and regular visitor to Spain, there is one region that I can wholeheartedly recommend above all others. Indeed I have been taking groups there since 1999.
The Picos are Spain's best kept secret - a stunning mountain range where you'll see few other visitors, enjoy a lovely climate, have alpine style days without the alpine hazards of thunderstorms and glaciers, and all within easy reach of airports at Bilbao and Santander.
Trips to the Picos use camping accommodation on a comfortable friendly site with a bar/restaurant and swimming pool. Not at all like camping in Scotland! Occasionally we overnight in mountain refuges, again comfortable with meals provided and a bar. Email me for further details.
The area is almost purpose built for the adventurous hill goer, there are infinite possibilities for challenging walking and scrambling, sometimes with multi-day trips from hut to hut, or sometimes from a comfortable valley base, with a cable car or all-terrain transport to give you a head start in the mornings!
Climbers will find much to interest them, from rock routes of alpine stature to bolted roadside crags for novices and experts alike.
You don't have to spend every day toiling up big mountains, the scenery and terrain here is extremely varied, and a network of centuries-old paths links the rustic villages of this pastoral landscape. The area is known as España Verde (Green Spain) and is world famous for it's meadows, biodiversity, traditional farming methods and way of life.
On the edges of the three massifs that make up the Picos are charming market towns where you can buy the famous blue cheeses of the area and other, less pungent, local crafts, or relax outside a cafe and watch the world go by.
The area is famous for it's huge gorges such as the Garganta de Cares which cut deep into the mountains, and is one of Europe's last strongholds of the bear and the wolf.
The Picos has been a favourite destination of ours for many years, during which time we have developed good relations with local providers of accommodation and transport. We'll certainly be able to help you get the best out of the area.
Email me for further details of Picos trips or check the Forthcoming Trips page
The village of Cosgaya nestling beneath the Eastern
Andarra massif of the Picos
Se Habla Español
On Parle Français
Horcados Rojos
The area is big on cheese making with many
distinctive rich blue cheeses
