This round trip route that circumnavigates the Picos de Europa National Park has everything; Breathtaking scenery, Incredibly twisty roads, deep river gorges and if you time it right, virtually traffic free, May is a good month.
This route uses just 3 roads in 200 kms which equates to riding or driving heaven!

From the start at Potes, the magnificent N-621 follows the Rio Quiviesa for 7 miles (11 kms), around gentle bends and with the mountains in the distance getting ever closer. The road changes and becomes more thrilling after the first hairpin bends at Vada. It climbs higher and higher on the San Glorio Pass giving you spectacular views around every corner. Several sets of hairpin bends later and you arrive at the most iconic and instantly recognisable statue, the Roe deer at Mirador del Corzo. It's almost obligatory to stop for a photo.
Carrying on up and up and you reach the summit of the San Glorio Pass at 1609 metres, here you have the option to turn right up a steep, twisting narrow track to see the statue of the Cantabrian Bear at Mirador del Orso the views from this new altitude of 1685 metres are breathtaking.
What goes up must come down, so now the route descends but this time in a more gentle fashion but the road does become more exciting as you follow the gorge carved out by the Naranco Stream and you pass through the La Hoz rock tunnel.
As the landscape levels out you make your way to the huge reservoir at Riaño. Here you can look at the water with a background of mountains and take a rest, there is fuel at Riaño too. The construction of the reservoir began in 1965, although certain social and political circumstances delayed its opening until the late 80s. Whatever the politics were, it's a beautiful reservoir.
From here we take another great road, the N-625 and it's not long before you reach the Puerto del Pontón after climbing to a height of 1280 metres a climb that has been used by the Spanish cycling race, The Vuelta. The summit here also marks the border of the Picos de Europa National Park, the route remains in the park for the next 20 kilometres.
The further you progress on the N-625 the higher your expectations rise as you sense that something special is coming.

Passing through the Oseja de Sajambre rock tunnel is like passing through a portal to another world as you approach the Desfiladero de los Beyos, a deep gorge that is very exciting and sometimes very exposed which has numerous twists and turns. The road is asphalted but extremely narrow. It is characterised by the vertical walls and the narrowing of the valley produced by the erosion of Sella River.
Anyone who travels along this national road that connects the province of León with Asturias via the Puerto del Pontón will surely share the famous words of French scientist and mountaineer Paul Labrouche, immortalized on the stone plaque that can be seen at the height of the Vidosa Bridge, in the middle of the gorge, he compares it to famous gorges around the world, it reads:
"The Sella Gorge is the steepest and most impressive of the famous gorges. Pierre Lys and Saint-Georges , in the Aude Pyrenees; the Fier, in Savoy, and the Via Mala, in Grisons; the Chiffa, in the Atlas; the Khakoueta Gap, in the Soude Valley, and Hell's Street, on the Lys, can only give—on a very small scale—an impression of the fantastic notch through which the engineers of Castile managed to carve a road."
I can't argue against that!

For this route, the N-625 ends at the city of Cangas de Onís, also capital of the area of the same name.
The most representative feature is its Roman Bridge, declared to be a Historic-Artistic Site in 1931. You can see this by turning left at the first set of lights as you enter the city, it really is quite amazing.
The route takes you to a free motorcycle parking area where you'll also see a motorcycle statue that has been made from, what looks like two millstones and some large river boulders, it has a Flintstone's look about it and tempts you on for a photo. There is a good selection of shops, bars and restaurants making it an ideal lunch stop.

After lunch, the route takes the AS-114 and it's a nice gentle ride travelling through countryside and villages.
Your eyes are in for a nice surprise as you go around the corner after Canales. The vista opens up again and the road has the feeling of a French balcony road, clinging onto the side of the mountain making the journey even more exciting. The route follows this limestone gorge, following first the Rio Casano and then the Rio Cares, in some places the rock overhangs the road. The Rio Cares joins the Rio Deva at Panes which is where this route makes it's last turn, back onto the N-621 so you follow the river and N-621 back towards Potes.
We chose to stop for another coffee just before entering the most spectacular part of the Desfiladero de la Hermida.
This steep sided, 21 km gorge is the longest in the Iberian Peninsula. The Deva River runs through its interior, flanked by rock walls that reach up to 600 metres in height, making the gorge a true scenic spectacle. Apart from the Deva River, there's barely enough room in La Hermida for the winding N-621.
Fill up with fuel for tomorrow just before reaching Potes.
Enjoy.