The Lakes of Covadonga (el. 1134 m.) () are two

glacial lakes A glacial lake is a body of water with origins from glacier activity. They are formed when a glacier erodes the land and then melts, filling the depression created by the glacier. Formation Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,0 ...

located on the region of

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 ...

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 ...

. These lakes, often also called Lakes of Enol or simply Los Lagos, are Lake Enol and Lake Ercina located in 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 ...

range and they are the original center of 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 ...

, created in 1918. They are near the Covadonga Sanctuary. Lake Enol is situated approximately 10 km from

Covadonga Covadonga ( Asturian: ''Cuadonga'', from ''cova domnica'' "Cave of Our Lady") is one of 11 parishes in Cangas de Onís, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in Northwestern Spain. It is situated in the Picos de ...

and 25 km from

Cangas de Onís Cangas de Onís ( Asturian: ''Cangues d'Onís'' "valleys of Onís"'' Canga'' (plural ''cangues'') is an Asturian word for "valley, canyon".) is a municipality in the eastern part of the province and autonomous community of Asturias in the north ...

. A curving road is available from Arriondas to the lake. Measuring , it is one of the biggest lakes in the area. Lake Enol is situated above sea level. A submerged image of the Virgin Mary is elevated every year on 8 September and then taken out for a procession. Regional dancing occurs at Lake Enol during the Fiesta del Pastor on 25 July. Lake Ercina is situated at an altitude of and its maximum depth is just over . The

eutrophic Eutrophication is a general term describing a process in which nutrients accumulate in a body of water, resulting in an increased growth of organisms that may deplete the oxygen in the water; ie. the process of too many plants growing on the s ...

lake covers approximately .

Vuelta a España

The road ascending from

to the lakes is a popular climb in professional

road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on Road surface, paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The ...

, having been used by

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; ) is an annual stage race, multi-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Ital ...

many times in the last 25 years. Together with

Alto de l'Angliru Alto de L'Angliru (; ) is a steep mountain road in Asturias, near La Vega-Riosa, in northern Spain. It is considered one of the most demanding climbs in professional road bicycle racing and is often used in the Vuelta a España stage race. Origin ...

, Lagos de Covadonga is the most important climb in the modern history of the ''Vuelta''. The road that leads to the lakes starts at Covadonga and is 12.6 kilometres long at an average gradient of 7.3% (height gain: 1056 m

The most demanding section is ''La Huesera'', 7 kilometres from the top of the climb, with an average gradient of 15% during 800 meters. It was featured for the first time in 1983 with the victory of Marino Lejarreta, who was in a fierce battle with

Bernard Hinault Bernard Hinault (; born 14 November 1954) is a French former professional road bicycle racing, road cyclist. With 147 professional victories, including five times the Tour de France, he is often named among the greatest cyclists of all time. In ...

for overall victory. This was the same Vuelta that saw Hinault,

Greg LeMond Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. He won the Tour de France thrice and the UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race, Road Race World Championship twice, becoming t ...

and

Laurent Fignon Laurent Patrick Fignon (; 12 August 1960 – 31 August 2010) was a French professional road bicycle racer who won the Tour de France in 1983 and 1984, as well as the Giro d'Italia in 1989. He held the title of FICP World No. 1 in 1989. Fignon came ...

all riding on the same team. Stage 7 of the 2023 La Vuelta Femenina ended at Lagos de Covadonga, with Dutch cyclist

Demi Vollering Adriana Geertruida "Demi" Vollering (; born 15 November 1996) is a Dutch professional bicycle racing, racing cyclist who rides for UCI Women's Team, UCI Women's WorldTeam FDJ–Suez. Considered one of the greatest riders of her generation, sh ...

placing first.

Winners of the Lakes of Covadonga stage - Men

Winners of the Lakes of Covadonga stage - Women

References

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External links

Lagos de Covadonga climb details

Information and profile of the Covadonga by Climbbybike.com

Cycling up to Lagos de Covadonga: data, profile, map, photos and description
{{coord, 43, 16, 31, N, 4, 59, 07, W, source:eswiki_region:ES, display=title Climbs in cycle racing in Spain Picos de Europa