SECTO
RN
OR
THW
ESTERN
PEN
INSU
LAR
Sinc
e 19
93 t
he M
inis
try
for
Agr
icul
ture
, Fo
od a
nd t
he
Envi
ronm
ent’s
Nat
ure
Trai
ls P
rogr
am a
ims
to r
esto
re f
or-
mer
tra
nspo
rt in
fras
truc
ture
s su
ch a
s ra
ilway
tra
cks,
catt
le
trai
ls a
nd tr
aditi
onal
rout
es, f
or p
ublic
use
and
enj
oym
ent.
Thes
e ro
utes
take
us
to th
e co
untr
ysid
e to
dis
cove
r the
bio
-di
vers
ity a
nd b
eaut
y of
our
pre
ciou
s na
tura
l her
itage
, and
di
scov
er t
he v
illag
es, s
ight
s, tr
aditi
ons
and
peop
le t
hat
are
part
of t
he u
niqu
e cu
ltura
l lan
dsca
pe o
f our
cou
ntry
.
We
invi
te y
ou to
vis
it th
em a
nd o
ffer y
ou th
e ke
ys to
enj
oy
the
trip
. In
this
bro
chur
e yo
u w
ill fi
nd a
brie
f des
crip
tion
of
the
Muñ
igo
- Cov
adon
ga N
atur
e Tr
ail a
nd t
he m
ap fo
r th
e jo
urne
y, al
ong
with
reco
mm
enda
tions
to m
ake
the
mos
t of
this
exp
erie
nce.
We
only
ask
one
thi
ng o
f yo
u: d
o no
t fo
r-ge
t to
leav
e ev
eryt
hing
as
you
foun
d it.
The
con
serv
atio
n of
th
ese
path
way
s is
als
o yo
ur re
spon
sibi
lity.
NAT
URE
TRA
ILM
UÑ
IGO
-C
OV
AD
ON
GA
The
Muñ
igo
– C
ovad
onga
Nat
ure
Trai
l is
loca
ted
som
e 7
ki-
lom
etre
s aw
ay f
rom
Can
gas
de O
nís,
capi
tal o
f th
e to
wn
nam
ed li
ke it
, loc
ated
in th
e Ea
ster
n pa
rt o
f the
Prin
cipa
lity
of A
stur
ias.
It is
app
roxi
mat
ely
1.5 k
ilom
etre
s lo
ng, a
nd i
t ru
ns a
long
the
ent
ranc
e of
the
Pic
os d
e Eu
ropa
Nat
iona
l Pa
rk u
ntil
the
Real
Siti
o de
Cov
adon
ga t
hrou
gh a
ped
es-
tria
n pa
th.
The
hist
ory
of th
is p
rote
cted
are
a st
arte
d on
22n
d Ju
ly 19
18,
whe
n th
e ea
ster
n pa
rt o
f thi
s m
ount
ain
rang
e w
as d
ecla
red
Mon
taña
de
Cov
adon
ga N
atio
nal P
ark.
Som
e de
cade
s la
ter,
the
prot
ecte
d ar
ea w
as e
xten
ded
to 6
4,66
0 he
ctar
es a
nd it
w
as d
ecla
red
Pico
s de
Eur
opa
Nat
iona
l Par
k. L
astly
, in
2003
, U
NES
CO a
ppro
ved
its B
iosp
here
Res
erve
sta
tus.
TELE
PH
ON
ES O
F IN
TER
EST:
• N
atio
nal P
ark
Info
rmat
ion
(Cas
a D
ago)
:
00
34 9
85 8
4 86
14•
Can
gas
de O
nís
Cit
y C
ounc
il:
0034
985
84
80 4
3•
Pico
s de
Eur
opa
Nat
iona
l Par
k:
00
34 9
85 2
4 14
12/
(cen
tral
offi
ces)
0
034
985
25 5
3 76
NIPO: DL:
Muñ
igo
to C
ovad
onga
[G
alic
ia]
THR
OU
GH
TH
E H
EAR
T O
F TH
E P
ICO
S D
E EU
RO
PA N
ATI
ON
AL
PAR
K
1. This nature trail starts shortly before reaching the “Las Llerices” parking, located on the A
S-262 road, between
the last two houses at the edge of M
uñigo. Going to the
right from the road, the trail starts clim
bing up a ladder covered in broom
and gorse, and continues afterwards
on flat ground until it plunges into a great chestnut, birch and m
aple trees forest. .
2. To the left of the route, the traveller can see the C
ruz the Priena, an uneven prom
ontory taller than 700 m
etres high. It is a privileged observatory, with diffi
-cult access, from
where you can enjoy the view
of the sea, the Sueve m
ountain range, Arriondas, C
angas, C
ovadonga, the Lagos road, and also the highest peaks of these valleys.
3. Leaving the forest behind, the trail becom
es a slight slo-pe w
hich runs along a traditional stable and a field, where
it is more com
mon to find beech trees. Step by step, the
trail goes deeper into the Picos de Europa National Park,
and the Monastery of San Pedro and the tow
ers of the Basilica of Santa M
aría la Real can be seen through the trees.
4.
The route ends at the Eastern part of the Covadonga M
onumental G
roup, located in an exceptionally beauti-ful setting.e the landscape of this natural environm
ent.
NATU
RE TRAIL
MU
ÑIG
O - C
OV
AD
ON
GA
Field mapple
Cham
ois (Rupicabra rupicabra)Basilica of Santa M
aría la Real
SEC
TOR
NO
RTH
WES
TER
N P
ENIN
SULA
R
Obelisk built in 1857 by the dukes of M
ontpensier in the so-called “El Repelao”, has the replica of the C
ruz de la Victoria and, according to tradition, it rem
inds where
Don Pelayo w
as crowned.
PIC
OS D
E EUR
OPA
NA
TION
AL PA
RK
Located in the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula, shared by A
sturias, Cantabria and León, the Picos de
Europa Natural Park is found in the biggest lim
estone form
ation in the European Atlantic coastline, and it is
part of the Cantabrian M
ountains.The karstic processes of its geology have created an im
pressive landscape filled with gorges, caves and
abysses more than 1,000 m
etres high. The Covadonga
lakes, Enol and Ercina, were caused by the great gla-
cial erosion suffered by the summ
its of the Macizo de
Cm
ión (also known as W
estern Massif).
The ecosystems related to the A
tlantic forest are hom
e to more than one hundred species of birds,
among w
hich the black woodpecker and the threa-
tened Cantabrian capercaillie are w
orth mentioning.
You can find evasive species like chamois in the cliffs,
whereas roe deer and w
olves are comm
on in the plen-tiful forests of the area. O
ne exceptional inhabitant of this park is the brow
n bear, protected species for w
hich there is a recovery plan in force. In the park and its environm
ent you can find great birds of prey, such as the griffon vulture and golden eagle.
Gui
de t
o th
eNa
ture
Tr
ails
of S
pain
REA
L SITIO D
E CO
VA
DO
NG
A
Covadonga is a parish in the town of C
angas de Onís,
integrated into the protected area of the Picos de Euro-pa N
ational Park. It is home to a sanctuary erected in
honour of the Virgin, comm
emorating the defeat of the
Muslim
troops in the Battle of Covadonga in year 722. In the interior of this m
onumental group, the m
ost visi-ted w
ithin the Principality of Asturias, it is w
orth men-
tioning the “Santa Cueva”, w
here, according to tradi-tion, the C
hristian army took shelter during the battles
that started the Reconquista. It is currently home to the
chapel where the im
age of the Virgin of Covadonga is located, know
n as the “Santina”, and also the grave of D
on Pelayo.A
nother monum
ent that must be visited is the Basilica
of Santa María La Real, designed by Roberto Frassinelli
and erected by the architect Federico Aparici, betw
een 1877 and 1901. It is purely N
eo-Romanesque style w
ith pink lim
estone. On the Basilica’s terrace, next to the
Monastery of San Pedro, you can find the C
hapter Hou-
se and the bronze statue of Don Pelayo, constructed in
1964 by the sculptor Eduardo Zaragoza.W
orth mentioning about this group is the big bell w
hich is three m
etres high and weighs 4,000 kilogram
s, “La cam
panona”, built in 1900 in La Felguera by the Italian sculpture Sortini. This piece of art, donated by the cou-nt Sizzo-N
orice and Luis Góm
ez Herrero w
on the first prize at the U
niversal Exhibition in Paris. Moreover, the
Starting point
End of trail
Religious building
NATURE TRAILMUÑIGO -
COVADONGA
3
4
1
town point of interest
Parking Las Llerices
MIDE
Upward gradient
Downward gradient
ROUTE LENGTH
TIME
Harshness of natural environment
Guidance along the route
Route difficulty
Amount of effort needed
1111
90 m0 m
1,6 km30 min
1,61,510,50 km
200
500
50
100
150
250
0m
CovadongaMuñigo
SECTORNORTHWESTERN PENINSULAR
NatureTrails
2
Monument