For this route through the autumnal Asturias We move away from the jack, horse and king that we all know and enter into unknown territory for mass tourism: we leave the cider culines, the cachopo and Santa María del Naranco for another occasion.
Cioyo Waterfall (Castropol)
We start in the West and we start strong, with a small but demanding and risky hiking route that brings us to one of the most mysterious corners of the Castropol council: because if they have meigas on the other side of the border, here we have xanas.
Legend has it that a xana from the forest saved a young man with whom she had fallen in love and who frequented this place: one day of torrential rain, the waters of the river grew so much that they took the boy away until the xana intervened, creating the pool that today collects the waters of the waterfall.
If you want to remember this romantic legend, follow these instructions and great care If you look too close to the precipice, the xana will not fall in love with all the hikers who frequent its territory.
The chapels of Monsacro (Morcín)
We go to the small town of Morcín for another hiking route that takes us to one of the best viewpoints in the center of Asturias. We ascend the Monsacro mountain, which is just over 1000 meters high and from where you can see all the way to the capital of the Principality.
And another legend at the end of the route, of course: they say that in the chapels at the end of the route, the relics from Jerusalem that had been in Toledo until the Muslim invasion were temporarily stored. After their custody in the Morciniegas mountains they went to their final destination: the Holy Chamber of the Cathedral of Oviedo.
Somiedo Natural Park
With permission from Muniellos, Somiedo is one of the places that looks best in autumn as we can see in the image. We are talking about a natural park of almost 30,000 hectares which includes beech forests in which oaks, ashes, maples and lime trees also abound. When the leaves of these trees begin to yellow and finally fall, they generate these unforgettable landscapes that make Somiedo one of the most photographed places in Asturian autumn.
Peloño Forest (Ponga)
If you prefer something a little less extensive so as not to get lost, we recommend this forest in the council of Ponga, in the southeast of Asturias, very close to the Picos de Europa. However, it is not a “garden” either: it is 15 km2 of forest mass of one of the best preserved beech forests in Spain.
To explore this forest as God intended, it is also preferable to follow a hiking route of just over 11 kilometers that allows us to initially know San Juan de Beleñoone of those Asturian towns that fascinates the newcomer for its combination of traditional architecture and dazzling nature.
Espinaréu (Piloña)
But if you want to walk through one of the most impressive collections of traditional Asturian architecture, we recommend this parish in the council of Piloña, which has a countless granaries and panerasYou know, those wood and stone constructions originally intended to store food and which, in the end, have become an Asturian emblem.
Montegrande beech forest (Teverga)
Has the Cioyo waterfall not been enough and you still want more water and xanas? Well, come to the council of Teverga, in the central area of Asturias, for another route through forests dyed orange, ocher and yellow.
And pay attention because the Montegrande beech forest through which it runs this path It is the third most important beech forest in Asturias… after Peloño and Muniellos. After nine kilometers of walking Among the thick forests, the Xiblu waterfall, whose name would derive from the sound it makes when it falls, like a kind of whistle.
Bowls (Villaviciosa)
Almost, we almost left you without sea on this tour through the Asturian autumn, but at the last minute we felt like a northeast wind and we decided to go down to the coast to see one of the most beautiful towns on the Costa Verde, although a little less popular than Llanes, Lastres or Cudillero.
But Tazones is a town with a lot of history, that of an enclave that for centuries lived off fishing, especially whale catch who once also sailed through the Cantabrian Sea.
But in addition to gigantic marine animals, another “gigantic” being also arrived at the port of Tazones one day 500 years ago, at least for European history: a guy named Carlos who would become the most powerful monarch in the West.
Every August 24 and 25, the arrival of Charles Vwhose ship from Flanders deviated from its mysterious route: it was not clear where they were going to arrive for fear of the impact of the heir’s arrival in his future domains. Well, there is no evil (time) that does not come with good: Charles V entered Tazones on the right foot since he would soon fall in love with this land until the end of his days in Yuste.
