The Naranjo de Bulnes dominates the landscape, no matter where you look from. It rises like the central axis of a compass rose, in which the cardinal points are blurred. Nestled in the middle of the central massif of the Picos de Europa, the Urriellu’s peak touches the sky. Meanwhile, against the top of its peak, the clouds of a sea that seems celestial burst into foam.
At more than 2,500 meters, it lives with its karst heights with the Torre del Tiro Llago, the Pico San Carlos or the Macondiú. All of them guardians of the dreams of many mountaineers who raised their eyes to the roof of this Natural Park inhabited by the wind. The Asturian relief cannot be understood without the Naranjo de Bulnes, protector of stories and legends, lord of the open valley in the Vega del Urriellu. Watchman of forests, rivers and smoking chimneys of small villages hidden in quiet corners that shout its presence. Traveling to Asturias to get to know it means setting out on an expedition, not only geological, but also historical, dreamlike… It is about listening to what nature has to tell.
North face of the Naranjo de Bulnes. | Shutterstock
The Naranjo de Bulnes was born from a glaciation. An imposing ice age that fell on the geography of the Picos de Europa about 40,000 years ago, in the Quaternary period. Two glacial tongues surrounded it changing its morphology, until it was smoothed in such a way that it does not present any edge.
The history of this imposing Asturian peak, framed in the territory of the Cantabrian Mountain Range, is a story forged in the passage of centuries and seasons. A history of ice with a name where the pre-Roman prefix “ur” is anchored, a land elevation also present in other giants of Asturias. The Urrieles, Urra and Orro massifs share it.
The Urriellu, as it is known in Asturian, is a geometry with several faces accessed in different ways, invoking ancient names and expeditionaries. On the west face, ‘Sagittarius’ or ‘Mediterranean’. On the north, the primordial ‘Pidal- Cainejo’ or the ‘Turquoise Goddess”. While on the east, ‘La Luna’ or ‘Friendship with the Devil’. In the south, ‘Amanecer Incierto’ or ‘Dile al Sol’. The names are many, as well as the roads. There are as many baptisms as there are sets and ascents.
The first ascent was made at the beginning of the 20th century, in 1904, by Pedro Pidal and Bernardo de Quirós, Marquis of Villaviciosa. They were accompanied by a shepherd from León and together they drew the Pidal-Cainejo route on the north face of the mountain. The ascents followed one after the other, led by a variety of mountaineers. From a German, Guillermo Schulz, a university scholar in geology to whom we owe the baptism of this rocky mass as the Naranjo de Bulnes. Even a neighbor of the nearby village that gives its name or a couple of mountaineers from Aragon. With picks, ropes and pegs, they were sketching routes and steps.
Pico Urriellu seen from its base. | Shutterstock
Starting from the base, in the Vega del Urriellu, many have invented ways to ascend to the sky. For some, life was extinguished during the winter ascent to the west face, 500 meters of vertical and cold wall. Others contemplated it from the top after completing the Rabadá and Navarro route.
It is said that the pioneers stopped to appreciate the colossus from El Collado. They climbed up the Canal de la Celada to the Morra del Carnizoso, overcame enormous crevasses, obstacles in the shape of ‘Panza de Burra’ and crowned the ascent. Legend has it that in spring Pedro Pidal used to visit the Naranjo de Bulnes. “Hello, old friend, how did you spend the winter?”, he would ask him, looking at him, always unchanged, from the Pozo de la Oración viewpoint, between Poo and Carreña, villages in the Cabrales region. Years later, although buried in Covadonga, he was reunited, in fulfillment of his last wish, with his limestone comrade. Since 1949 his remains have rested in the Mirador de Ordiales. From there he never loses sight of the path to the clouds.
The Naranjo de Bulnes from Pedro Udaondo’s viewpoint | Shutterstock
In Sotres nestle the memories of thousands of climbing and adventure plans. From there starts the main route to reach the Vega del Urriellu. The highest village in Asturias, in the heart of the Picos de Europa, is the starting and finishing point for those who face the challenge.
The stone houses appear among the trees, while herds of goats and sheep play hide and seek among the rocks and meadows. To get there you have to follow the Duje riverbed from the Poncebos Bridge. There, from the viewpoint, if the fog allows it, you can already see the Naranjo in the distance. As the road goes on, you can sense the entrance to the Cabrales area, a spectacular landscape, cradle of a unique cheese-making tradition. The funicular leads directly to Bulnes, from where the Urriellu is even more impressive for its proximity.
Stone houses in Bulnes, next to the river. | Shutterstock
Leaving Poncebos, following the path that runs along the river gorge, Carmameña awaits, still in the Cabrales area. More than 400 meters above the sea, near the Cares Gorge, a small paved road serves as an improvised viewpoint. The Urriellu is imposing over an image that changes color with the seasons. In Asiego, the Pedro Udaondo viewpoint not only offers stunning views, but also a place of rest and peace.
The orography is all ascents and descents. From the Tielve Valley to the Moñetas Valley, where a lake keeps, in its depths, the reflections of centuries. Nearby, in Tresviso, the traveler is greeted by images that seem frozen in time. Shepherds tending their flocks, huts and mountain panoramas impossible to forget. Following the trail of a mining past, one arrives at the border scar that divides Asturias and Cantabria. But first awaits the Refugio de Áliva, a land of lead and zinc entrails. In winter, following the Cares route, Cain emerges, already in Leon lands, immersed in the Valdeón Valley. It appears as a snow-covered postcard, a reminder of its illustrious neighbor, “El Cainejo”, adventure companion of the first climbers of Pico Urriellu.
In another direction, Pandébano works as a new visual anteroom to the expected Naranjo de Bulnes. Together with the latter, the Collado de Vallejo has become an obligatory step towards the Paleozoic giant. At its base, the stone houses of Bulnes, the small town from which it takes its name, are entangled in the mountains. At the end of the village, a viewpoint emerges as a promise to touch the sky. Arriving at the refuge, the peak is in front of you. The sound of water and the chirping of birds accompany the walk along the cobblestone streets and echo among the peaks.
When you visit the Picos de Europa something happens that is difficult to explain. A spell that invites you to stay a little longer, to know a little more. Do not miss the opportunity to feel this mountainous land nestled between Asturias, Leon and Cantabria. Geography of myths, glacial lakes, hermitages and valleys surrounded by rivers. Uphills and downhills The valleys are full of lush beech forests, from Covadonga and its glacial waters, to the Sella or Cares riverbeds.
Duje river valley in Áliva. | Shutterstock
Lush beech forests abound, such as Montecortegueros or Sajambre, and pastures await the arrival of summer. The Enol and the Ercina reflect the sky furrowed by eagles and vultures, and among the trees watch the roe deer and wild boar. When dusk falls, calm takes over this fragment of Asturias declared a Biosphere Reserve, but the night brings another spectacle, in the form of starry constellations. The march can continue to infinity, no matter the direction. The landscape persists in its attraction like a magnet. It only remains to decide to let yourself be magnetized and enjoy it.