The Cares Trail or Ruta del Cares is one of the most popular trekking paths within the

Picos de Europa Picos is a municipality in the state of Piauí in the Northeast region of Brazil. Picos is the state's third-largest city, located in the south-central region of Piauí and is the most economically developed city in the region. The city's fin ...

, the route is situated between the

province of León León (, ; ; ; ) is a province of northwestern Spain in the northern part of the Region of León and in the northwestern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. About one quarter of its population of 463,746 (2018) lives in the c ...

and

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

, in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It runs from the Asturian village of Puente Poncebos to

Posada de Valdeón Posada de Valdeón (Astur-Leonese: ''Valdión'') is a municipality located in the province of León, Castile and León, Spain. Population According to the 2006 census ( INE), the municipality has a population of 526 inhabitants. Villages Pos ...

through Caín in Leon along the Cares Canyon. In the old times, the route was the only way to reach both towns during the snow seasons in the winter.

History

The ''Cares Trail'' was first opened in the mountain rock along the Cares river's

canyon A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency t ...

between the years of 1916 and 1921 to provide maintenance, food and supplies to the

hydroelectric powerplant Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and also mo ...

of Camarmeña - Poncebos; It was later improved and expanded between 1945 and 1950.

Characteristics

The Cares Trail runs in between the

Cantabrian Mountains The Cantabrian Mountains or Cantabrian Range () are one of the main systems of mountain ranges in Spain. They stretch for over 300 km (180 miles) across northern Spain, from the western limit of the Pyrenees to the Galician Massif ...

and is referred to as the "Divine

Gorge A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tend ...

" of the Cares river, It is a pathway at mid-height of approximately 11 kilometers in length. It is considered one of the most beautiful natural sites in

, it runs along

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

s and pathways sculpted in the rock. While the Cares river carves a much longer path across the mountains to flow into the

bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay ( ) is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc'h to the Spanish border, and along the northern coast of Spain, extending westward ...

in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. From south to north it runs through, Valdeón (

), Cabrales, Peñamellera Alta and Peñamellera Baja. The path known in Spanish as the "Ruta del Cares", is an accessible part, through an elevated trail over the

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

. The

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

s that form the mountains on both sides of the Defile are made out of grey

Limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

. In them there are numerous hollows and caves, some of which have been used as shelter for

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

that

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Types of pasture Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, c ...

in the nearby fields. When the route reaches Caín, the Defile opens, and the path continues through a

that runs through the town. Ruta del cares

Hiking

The spectacular scenery and the moderate slope of the Cares Trail make it ideal to enjoy

Hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

along its path. Out of the two million estimated visitors to the

Picos de Europa National Park The Picos de Europa National Park () is a National Park in the Picos de Europa mountain range, in northern Spain. It is within the boundaries of three autonomous communities, Asturias, Cantabria and Castile and León, which are represented on th ...

it is estimated that the Cares trail receives approximately 300.000 hikers as it is the most popular within the National Park. To avoid hiking accidents the use of proper footwear is advised.

References

Image Gallery

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External links