sports
Trekking through a living mountain culture: Spain’s Picos de Europa
A landscape of forbidding peaks west of Bilbao plays host to an improbable world full of wild flowers, animals and resilient cheesemakers
TL;DR
- The Picos de Europa mountains offer dramatic scenery, steep slopes, and unique wildlife, including chamois and bearded vultures.
- Unexpected sights include a WWII gun turret repurposed as a mountain refuge hut and traditional cheesemaking families.
- The region boasts a rich natural history, with unique subspecies, rare birds, and extensive underground cave networks.
- Hiking in the Picos involves staying in off-grid mountain huts, often supplied by mule, and enjoying generous hospitality and food.
- The journey to the Picos can be as unique as the destination, with ferry travel offering a more environmentally conscious option and opportunities for marine wildlife sightings.
- The Picu Urriellu, a prominent rock pinnacle, is a famous landmark with popular climbing routes and a well-known mountain hut at its base.
- The area faces environmental challenges, with Spain's heatwaves impacting wildlife habitats.