Mirador del Príncipe, Lagos de Covadonga
Drive the serpentine road above Covadonga and you arrive at the glacial Lagos de Enol and Ercina, twin jewels sitting at 1,100 m in the Picos de Europa National Park. The Mirador del Príncipe, perched between the two lakes, delivers a panorama so cinematic it regularly stops hikers mid-stride.
The View & the Lakes
From the mirador's stone balustrade you can see Lago Enol shimmering turquoise-green in the foreground, with the jagged limestone teeth of the Picos de Europa cutting the horizon behind it. On clear days, a faint silver line of the Cantabrian Sea appears to the north — an extraordinary triple landscape of mountain, lake and ocean.
Lago Ercina, a few minutes' walk east, is shallower and fringed with wildflowers in June and July. Free-roaming Asturian mountain horses graze right to the water's edge, utterly unbothered by photographers edging closer.
Getting There & Timing
The road to the lakes (AS-262) is closed to private vehicles on summer weekends and Spanish public holidays; a shuttle bus (Lagos bus) departs from the Covadonga car park roughly every 20 minutes. Outside those restrictions, driving up yourself at sunrise rewards you with mirror-calm water and zero crowds.
The lakes sit inside the Picos de Europa National Park, so bring layers even in August — temperature drops sharply above 1,000 m and afternoon thunderstorms are common. The payoff is dramatic cloud drama rolling through the peaks.
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