By far my favorite place, you can’t pass through Asturias without visiting the Lagos de Covadonga! The Lagos are two lakes in the Picos de Europa that are surrounded by green, mountains, and in the summer countless cows.
This plan is the perfect way to visit the lakes and the attractions in the area!
The Logistics
Important: during the high-season you can ONLY reach the lakes with a special bus. If you arrive during the low-season, you should do the same route I explain in the post but you will use your car to reach each spot and park there.
Important #2: this route can be executed using public transportation ONLY during high-season since the high-season bus is working.
The High-Season Bus
2019 high season for and bus hours:
- April 13 – May 5 (9:00-20:30)
- June 1 – October 16 (9:00-20:30)
- November 1-3 (9:00-18:30)
- December 6-9 (9:00-18:30)
Bus ticket prices:
- Adult (valid all day): 9 €
- Minor under the age of 12 (valid all day): 3,50 €
- Minor under the age of 3 (valid all day): free
The bus makes several stops in parking lots and sites, the most important stops are: Cangas de Onís, Covadonga, and the Lagos of Covadonga.
Once you purchase your bus ticket you can freely get on and off the bus in each stop throughout the day. Therefore, I recommend for you to get off in all the 3 main stops.
Arrival
Low-season: drive to the Lagos de Covadonga and park there, skip to the “Your Itinerary” section for your day’s route.
High-season: arrive to Cangas de Onís, continue reading below.
How to get to Cangas de Onís from Oviedo?
Car: about one hour drive.
Bus: there are a very frequent ALSA buses that connect Oviedo with Cangas de Onís, weekdays they pass every hour and sometimes even more frequently, weekends they pass about every two hours. The bus ride is only an hour and a half, a little more than with a car so it is not so bad!
How to get to Cangas de Onís from Gijon?
Car: about one hour drive.
Bus: there is a fast ALSA bus at 10:00 on weekdays that lasts only an hour and a half and it is your best choice! The rest of the buses will take over 2 hours o arrive to Cangas de Onís.
The other option is to take a direct 30 minutes ALSA bus from Gijon to Oviedo and take a bus to Cangas de Onís from there. Direct buses between Gijon and Oviedo are fast a frequent so it should be a good way to arrive there!
Your Itinerary
Your route for visiting the Lagos de Covadonga is: Lagos de Covadonga, Covadonga, then Cangas de Onís.
High-season: as mentioned above, you will first arrive to Cangas de Onís. However, you will get to explore the town later in the day since it is better to arrive to the lakes as early as possible.
Upon arrival to Cangas de Onís, go to the town’s main bus station and purchase your Lagos de Covadonga bus ticket. Then, take the first bus all the way to thelast stop, Lagos de Covadonga.
Lagos de Covadonga / Covadonga Lakes
Start your day with the most magical place in Asturias!
You can quickly visit the two lakes by climbing over a hill to see the second lake. The total walking time is less than an hour but you will want to stop often to enjoy the views.
However, if you would like to see more than just the two lakes, here is a great 10 km easy route.
From the lakes take the bus/drive to the next stop, Covadonga.
Covadonga
The place consists of the Real Sitio de Covadonga, also known as the “cradle of Spain”, a pilgrimage site dedicated to Our Lady of Covadonga and commemorating the Battle of Covadonga. The Sanctuary of Covandonga is a monument dedicated to Our Lady of Covadonga that commemorates the Battle of Covadonga. It comprises the Basílica de Santa María la Real de Covadonga, a church built in the 19th century to a design by Roberto Frassinelli and Santa Cueva de Covadonga (“Holy Cave of Covadonga”), in which the bodies of Kings Pelagius and Alfonso I lie.
If this does not interest you, I recommend that you spend a few minutes quickly checking out the cave, as it is very beautiful!
From Covadonga take the bus/drive to the next and last stop, Cangas de Onís.
Cangas de Onís
This town by the Picos de Europa is one of the most important ones in Asturias’s history. That is to say, Cangas de Onís used to be the capital of the Asturian Kingdom until the year 774.
It’s the perfect place to have lunch, dinner, or just a quick beer stop. Have a stroll around town and check out the town’s “Roman” bridge and Chapel of Santa Cruz. In addition, stop at the local stores for yummy souvenirs like cheese, cold meats, or an Asturian pastry.
On Sundays, you can find here a beautiful town market that I highly recommend! Since most other towns are pretty dead on Sunday so this is a great way to pass your Sunday.
I hope you enjoy your time visiting the Lagos de Covadonga!
For more amazing places in Asturias check the post
12 Places You Must Visit in Asturias
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