Valle de Valdeón

The Valle de Valdeón is wedged between the limestone walls of the Central and Western massifs of the Picos de Europa, in the north-east of León province. The River Cares runs through it from south to north before plunging into the gorge that bears its name, one of Spain's most walked hiking routes. Surrounding peaks exceed 2,500 metres — Torre de Cerredo (2,650 m), Torre del Llambrión (2,642 m) — and their vertical Carboniferous limestone faces form a natural amphitheatre that traps Atlantic moisture and produces a wet microclimate with over 1,500 mm of annual rainfall. Snow covers the higher ground from November to May and feeds streams that tumble down to the valley floor, where green meadows contrast with the grey rock of the ridges.

Posada de Valdeón, at 940 metres, is the valley's main settlement. It houses the Picos de Europa National Park headquarters for the León sector, with a visitor centre providing updated information on trails, access restrictions and mountain weather. The valley also includes smaller hamlets — Caín, Cordiñanes, Los Llanos, Caldevilla, Soto — with fewer than 500 permanent residents combined. Depopulation has been steady in recent decades, but the local economy is sustained by nature tourism, extensive Tudanca cattle farming and artisan cheese production.

The Cares Trail links Caín (León) with Poncebos (Asturias) along 12 kilometres of path carved into the rock halfway up the gorge wall. The gradient is moderate (the León section drops about 300 m), but lateral exposure to the void, the total length (24 km return) and the lack of shade in summer call for careful planning. The path was built between 1945 and 1950 for the maintenance of a hydroelectric canal and now serves as a traffic-free greenway. Beyond the Cares, the valley offers lesser-known routes: the climb to Vega de Liordes (2,000 m), giving access to the jous — high-mountain karst depressions — and the Corona trail, with views of the Central massif without the Cares crowds.

Valley wildlife includes the Cantabrian chamois, which grazes on high meadows and is easily spotted from the trails, and an Iberian wolf population inhabiting the forests on the southern slopes. The Cantabrian brown bear has confirmed presence in the area, though sightings are sporadic. Among raptors, the bearded vulture has been successfully reintroduced in the Picos and is frequently seen soaring above the massif's couloirs. The beech and oak woods on the valley floor turn copper in October, and the smell of damp leaf litter fills the paths descending toward the Cares.

Local cuisine centres on the leonés stew, cecina (air-dried beef), Tudanca beef and artisan cheeses, notably Valdeón DOP — a blue cheese wrapped in maple leaf and made in the valley's own dairies. Restaurants in Posada and Caín serve set menus with local produce at reasonable prices. Accommodation ranges from rural guesthouses and pensions to a handful of mountain hotels. In high season (July–August and Easter), booking weeks ahead is advisable. The access road, the LE-243, is narrow and winding; entry via the Pandetrave pass from Riaño (45 min) is the most common approach.