Meet at the group hotel in Soto de Onis, just outside Cangas de Onis. A single timed transfer from Bilbao airport is provided. The transfer will take around 2.5hrs. The small farming town of Cangas de Onis is our gateway to the Picos de Europa.

We have breakfast at our hotel and pick up packed lunches, before making the transfer to Lago de Enol (1063m) and the start of the day's walk. We set off on a good trail through fertile meadows, passing shepherds' cabins, until a final short climb leads to Collado Gamonal. Here, we have our first view of the Vegarredonda Refugio (1460m), our overnight accommodation. Used as an explosives store during the Spanish Civil War, it was rebuilt as a mountain refuge in 1987 and occupies a unique position for those wishing to explore the high peaks of the Macizo Occidental (Western Massif of the Picos). Chamois (locally known as rebecos) are a common sight here. Reaching the refuge, we can leave our overnight gear before setting off on an afternoon walk to the Mirador de Ordiales, which offers breathtaking views. From here, we will be able to easily reach the nearby summit of Pico Cotalba (2026m), before returning to the refuge.

We re-trace our approach route of yesterday for a little less than an hour, before turning north to Lago Ercina with its superb, often snow-capped backdrop of Peña de Santa Castilla. We'll pass some beautiful small hamlets, where some shepherds still spend the summer with their livestock. From here, a gently ascending path takes us to an excellent spring at the Vega las Bobias. Climbing more steeply now we have views of the Cuvicente (2014m) chain. Arriving at the collado and passing close by the third deepest cave system in Spain, we are rewarded with one of the most impressive views of the Macizo Central. We cross limestone boulders split by water and ice to our overnight accommodation at the Refugio Marques de Villaciciosa/Vega de Ario (1630m), which is perched in splendid isolation in an impressive mountain landscape with splendid views towards the Cares Gorge.

The next two days will be the most challenging of the holiday. Today we make a memorably steep descent of nearly 1200 metres taking the Shepherd 's Way and Canal de Culiembro into the Garganta del Cares. The first part of our descend follows an old shepherds' trail, winding through stony lapies formations, until we reach the hamlet and high pastures of Oston. From here, we start a steep but steady and impressive descent through Culiembro gully, surrounded by the impressive walls. The path becomes more defined as we head into woods of oak, walnut and beech, before finally arriving in the bed of the Cares Gorge, at the abandoned hamlet of Culiembro, where we continue our walk, now along the Gorge itself. In places the peaks soar precipitously almost 2000 metres above us and we will be amazed to be able to descend on a path cut through the outrageously difficult terrain. First built in the 1920's as part of a hydro-electric scheme, this path provides one of the most outstanding walks in the Picos de Europa. The gorge links the mountain town of Cain (in the province of Leon) with Puente Poncebos, where we will spend the night.

A day of ascent today as we head up to the base of El Naranjo de Bulnes, probably the most famous piece of rock in the Picos de Europa. Leaving our hotel, we descend to the Cares River and begin our ascent through the Canal del Tejo. This old stone path winds up through a gorge to Bulnes, a medieval village that until recently was only accessible by foot. The recent addition of a funicular railway has, in fact, changed very little here. After filling up with water from the village fountain, we leave on a lovely stone paved lane through a forest of walnut, linden and hazelnut trees to emerge in high pastures dotted with shepherds cabins. After stopping at a small hut with great views over the pasture land and the high peaks, we finally emerge into high mountain terrain and our first sighting of El Urelliu (Naranjo de Bulnes). Our refugio nestles beneath this imposing and dramatic wall of orange limestone.

Our journey continues south through a wildly graphic landscape of towers, spires and sheer rock faces that were carved during the ice age and continue to be transformed by rain, ice and snow melt. Meandering gently uphill we will surely be looking over our shoulders in the hope of capturing a few more images of El Naranjo before it goes out of sight. Herds of Rebecco, tiny but nimble deer-like animals, eagles and Egyptian vultures are often sighted in this area. As the terrain steepens we will find ourselves concentrating on a scramble of 300 meters up to Collado Horcados Rojos (2344m). If the weather is good then we will walk the rest of the day to the peak of Torre de los Horcados Rojos (2506m), an outstanding viewpoint for the whole area and a fine place to linger for a while. Reluctantly, we will begin our descent through granite boulders down to an old miners' track, which winds its way past a pretty turquoise-green lake and through a col into high summer pastures, where our overnight accommodation is situated. The hotel / refugio, Aliva, has an unsurpassed mountain location with fine views of the eastern massif.

This morning we begin our descent into the valley, but not before we have explored the most southern part of the Central massif, culminating in the ascent of Pico Valdecoro (1841m) which has fantastic views. Our route down to the valley gradually changes from high mountain scenery to meander through meadows and forest, a delightful contrast to the terrain of the past two days. We arrive back in time for a dip in the small hotel pool and there will be time to explore the village before our last night celebratory dinner.

The holiday ends after breakfast. A single timed transfer to Bilbao Airport will be provided.