Round trip from Oviedo 1 Ubinas la Mesa Natural park
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RouteXpert Nick Carthew - (MRA Master)
Last edit: 23-05-2022
Route Summary A roundtour through the real countryside of Asturias. Some small rural roads that offer the best views. I awarded 4 stars **** for this route. The roads and scenery are very good and the attractions are good.
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Verdict
Duration
7h 47m
Mode of travel
Car or motorcycle
Distance
224.31 km
Countries
RouteXpert Review This route soon takes you into the countryside of the region of Asturias, some of the roads are small and very rural but they are all bitumen surfaced and by using these, you will see some of the real Asturian countryside with breathtaking scenery. A short but dramatically deep limestone gorge take you to La Foz and acts as a gateway to the mountains. The scenery becomes more beautiful as you approach Las Ubinas la Mesa Natural Park and start to climb higher. There are some good opportunities for photo's along most of this route but the most spectacular will be within the park.
I have suggested a lunch stop at San Martín, here you will find a good selection of restaurants.
After lunch, you'll climb the Puerto de San Lorenzo, the highest point of the route at 1347m the route. The pass links the villages of San Martín and La Riera. It is not especially long but is known among cyclists, the climb has been featured in the Spanish Vuelta race. The route continues to twist and turn passing through small villages, gorges and several strange looking wooden barns raised from the ground by pyramid shaped stone pillars. These are in fact grain stores known as hórreos, they are built this way to prevent vermin from entering the stores and eating the grain. They are quite common in the north of Spain and are seen in Portugal as well.
The Rio Narcea has been dammed to form the Barca Reservoir with the water being used for producing hydroelectricity. The route follows the Barca Reservoir and Rio Narcea for several kilometers as it meanders along the valley.
The medieval Bridge of Peñaflor is part of the Camino de Santiago trail and was the site of the Battle of Peñaflor in which soldiers and civilians, under the orders of Gregorio Jove-Valdés, fought against the advancing troops of Napoleon in 1808. A cafe on the other side is a great place to stop for a coffee.
A little challenging in places but the rewards of the scenery and twisty roads make it worth it.
Links for the hotel and the other 3 routes are below.
Enjoy
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Changes may nevertheless have occurred due to changed circumstances, road diversions or seasonal closures. We therefore recommend checking each route before use.
Preferably use the route track in your navigation system. More information about the use of MyRoute-app can be found on the website under 'Community' or 'Academy'.
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Asturias
About this region
Asturias (, Spanish: [asˈtuɾjas]; Asturian: Asturies [asˈtuɾjes; -ɾjɪs]), officially the Principality of Asturias (Spanish: Principado de Asturias; Asturian: Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: Principao d'Asturias), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain.
It is coextensive with the province of Asturias and contains some of the territory that was part of the larger Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages. Divided into eight comarcas (counties), the autonomous community of Asturias is bordered by Cantabria to the east, by León (Castile and León) to the south, by Lugo (Galicia) to the west, and by the Cantabrian sea to the north.
Asturias is situated in a mountainous setting with vast greenery and lush vegetation, making it part of Green Spain. The region has a maritime climate. It receives plenty of annual rainfall and little sunshine by Spanish standards and has very moderated seasons, most often averaging in the lower 20s celsius. Heatwaves are rare due to mountains blocking southerly winds. Winters are very mild for the latitude, especially near sea level.
The most important cities are the communal capital, Oviedo, the seaport and largest city Gijón, and the industrial town of Avilés. Other municipalities in Asturias include Cangas de Onís, Cangas del Narcea, Gozón, Grado, Langreo, Llanera, Laviana, Lena, Llanes, Mieres, Siero, Valdés, Vegadeo and Villaviciosa (see also List of municipalities and comarcas in Asturias).
Asturias is also home of the Princess of Asturias Awards.
Read more on Wikipedia
It is coextensive with the province of Asturias and contains some of the territory that was part of the larger Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages. Divided into eight comarcas (counties), the autonomous community of Asturias is bordered by Cantabria to the east, by León (Castile and León) to the south, by Lugo (Galicia) to the west, and by the Cantabrian sea to the north.
Asturias is situated in a mountainous setting with vast greenery and lush vegetation, making it part of Green Spain. The region has a maritime climate. It receives plenty of annual rainfall and little sunshine by Spanish standards and has very moderated seasons, most often averaging in the lower 20s celsius. Heatwaves are rare due to mountains blocking southerly winds. Winters are very mild for the latitude, especially near sea level.
The most important cities are the communal capital, Oviedo, the seaport and largest city Gijón, and the industrial town of Avilés. Other municipalities in Asturias include Cangas de Onís, Cangas del Narcea, Gozón, Grado, Langreo, Llanera, Laviana, Lena, Llanes, Mieres, Siero, Valdés, Vegadeo and Villaviciosa (see also List of municipalities and comarcas in Asturias).
Asturias is also home of the Princess of Asturias Awards.
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Route Collections in this region Three tours in and around Picos de Europa Northern Spain
The Picos de Europa is a mountainous area in northern Spain, next to the Basque Country. In the middle is the village of Posada de Valdeon, which cannot be reached by motorbike from the north: you have to drive around the Picos via Potes or Sames. We stayed overnight in Posada de Valdeon in Hostal Casa Abascal. A great hotel with breakfast option. You can eat in a restaurant in the village with usually a choice of two menus.
There are all kinds of nature reserves around the Picos. These three routes take you through some of them. There are gorges to see, viewpoints, reservoirs and you can walk more than fine. If you like walking, bring your walking shoes.
But we come to ride and it's going great. Excellent roads with the occasional piece of unpaved so that you do not have to detour far for another attraction. You can eat delicious food and the people are very nice and hospitable. And because the route to Lourdes goes above the Picos, there are also pilgrimage sites and very beautiful churches and monasteries. The most beautiful thing in this area is the nature: breathtakingly beautiful with wild animals, rugged mountains and wild rivers.
All in all, you can spend at least 4 days here if you take a day of rest or go for a walk.
There are all kinds of nature reserves around the Picos. These three routes take you through some of them. There are gorges to see, viewpoints, reservoirs and you can walk more than fine. If you like walking, bring your walking shoes.
But we come to ride and it's going great. Excellent roads with the occasional piece of unpaved so that you do not have to detour far for another attraction. You can eat delicious food and the people are very nice and hospitable. And because the route to Lourdes goes above the Picos, there are also pilgrimage sites and very beautiful churches and monasteries. The most beautiful thing in this area is the nature: breathtakingly beautiful with wild animals, rugged mountains and wild rivers.
All in all, you can spend at least 4 days here if you take a day of rest or go for a walk.
View Route Collection
Ten Day Roadtrip from Spain to Portugal
This route collection describes a 10-day Road trip in the north of Spain and Portugal, a true paradise for motorcycling.
You drive over beautiful mountain ridges and through beautiful valleys. Along the way you drive through beautiful villages and countless nature reserves, great passes with countless curves, tunnels cut out of the mountains and azure blue reservoirs. The roads are fair to good, sometimes unpaved.
What you get to see along the way;
Spanish Pyrenees
Parc Naturel del Cadi-Moixero
Serra del Cadí
Serra de Moixeró
Pedraforca
Serra del Monsec
Collada de Clarà
Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido
Collados del Asón Natural Park.
Parque natural Saja-Besaya
Parque natural de Fuentes Carrionas y Fuente Cobre
Parque natural de la Montana de Riano y Mampodre
Picos de Europa
El Parque regional Montaña de Riaño y Mampodre
El Parque natural de Redes
The Sierra de la Culebra
Parque natural Montesinho
Along the routes there are more than enough nice places to stop for a short or longer period, these are described in the review and with a waypoint and POI included in the routes.
Have fun reading and planning your next motorcycle vacation.
If you have ridden these routes I would like to hear your feedback.
You drive over beautiful mountain ridges and through beautiful valleys. Along the way you drive through beautiful villages and countless nature reserves, great passes with countless curves, tunnels cut out of the mountains and azure blue reservoirs. The roads are fair to good, sometimes unpaved.
What you get to see along the way;
Spanish Pyrenees
Parc Naturel del Cadi-Moixero
Serra del Cadí
Serra de Moixeró
Pedraforca
Serra del Monsec
Collada de Clarà
Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido
Collados del Asón Natural Park.
Parque natural Saja-Besaya
Parque natural de Fuentes Carrionas y Fuente Cobre
Parque natural de la Montana de Riano y Mampodre
Picos de Europa
El Parque regional Montaña de Riaño y Mampodre
El Parque natural de Redes
The Sierra de la Culebra
Parque natural Montesinho
Along the routes there are more than enough nice places to stop for a short or longer period, these are described in the review and with a waypoint and POI included in the routes.
Have fun reading and planning your next motorcycle vacation.
If you have ridden these routes I would like to hear your feedback.
View Route Collection