Lago Enol & Lago Ercina, Picos de Europa
Less than 20 km from Cangas de Onís, two impossibly blue glacial lakes sit at 1,100 metres inside the Picos de Europa National Park, ringed by limestone peaks and roamed by wild horses. The drive up the winding AS-262 road alone is worth the trip, but the lakes reward those who linger with easy walks, big skies and silence you can almost touch.
The lakes and the landscape
Lago Enol is the larger and more accessible of the pair, with a small visitor centre and a refuge café serving hot cider and bocadillos. A 20-minute walk along a flat track leads to the smaller, shallower Lago Ercina, which turns a milky turquoise in spring snowmelt.
The surrounding limestone karst is part of the same geological drama that carved the Cares Gorge. On clear mornings, the Naranjo de Bulnes peak — a 2,519-metre orange monolith beloved by climbers — is visible to the south-east.
Walking and wildlife
The Ruta del Alba circular trail (roughly 7 km, easy-moderate) links both lakes and climbs to a mirador with a panorama stretching to the Cantabrian Sea on clear days. Griffon vultures are a near-constant presence overhead, and Cantabrian chamois are regularly spotted on the rocky slopes above Ercina.
Between late June and September a shuttle bus runs from the Buferrera car park to the lakes, as private vehicles are restricted on the upper road during peak hours — check the Picos de Europa National Park website for the current timetable before you go.
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