From the starting point in Cangas de Onis you drive directly into the mountains of the foothills of the Picos de Europa. There are beautiful viewpoints in various places from which you have a beautiful view of the mountains and the reservoirs. A few kilometers before the first reservoir you reach the first mountain pass, the Puerto del Pontón, which at around 1263 meters is not yet the highest today. The route follows a number of reservoirs including the Embalse de Riano.

Spain has been struggling with a lack of water since time immemorial, so it is not surprising that embalses or pantanos (reservoirs) have been built in many places to collect melt and rainwater for irrigation and electricity generation. The embalse de Riaño is one of them and it has a remarkable and long history.
There are more than 350 embalses in Spain with a total capacity of more than 55,000 cubic hectometers or 55 billion liters of water. That may seem like a lot, but Spain still has major problems and the somewhat megalomaniac plan of the Aznar government at the beginning of this century to divert water from the north (the Ebro River) directly to the south is testimony to this. This plan was shelved by Zapatero's socialist government for environmental reasons. In the seventies, after the death of Franco, love for the environment was less popular among socialists, because the plans for the construction of a large reservoir near the town of Riaño, which had already been developed before Franco's dictatorship, were the reign of the first socialist prime minister after Franco, Felipe González, was neatly executed. The Embalse de Riaño is located south of the Picos de Europa at more than 1100 meters above sea level. The dam was built on the Esla River and created a lake with a coastline of 103 kilometers and a volume of more than 650 cubic hectometers, placing it in the top twenty in terms of size on the list of embalses in Spain. The largest are five times as large as those of Riaño, but there are also many smaller ones with a volume of less than 50 cubic hectometers. In any case, the Embalse de Riaño is an impressive lake.

A little further on you will also drive past Embalse del Porma, a reservoir with a volume of 317 hm2, making it the third largest reservoir in the province of Leon. It has been in use since 1968,

Don't forget to fill up as soon as you get the chance, because gas stations are few and far between in this region.
Today the Puerto de San Isidro is the highest point of the route at 1520 meters. This mountain pass is also the border between the provinces of Castile and Leon and Asturias. Apart from a few houses there is little to do.
Just before Cabañaquinta there is a restaurant called Mesón La Panoya, and in Cabañaquinta there are a few bars. A little further on in Pola de Laviana there are also options for something to eat, drink or refuel.

You now slowly return to civilization and with Oviedo as the end point of this route you reach the capital of the province of Asturias. The city was founded in the year 761 and therefore has a long history. Oviedo currently has approximately 217,552 inhabitants.

In the 9th century, an innovative pre-Romanesque architectural style was developed in Asturias. The highlights are the churches in and around the city such as Santa María del Naranco, San Miguel de Lillo, Santa Cristina de Lena, Cámara Santa and San Julián de los Prados. The Asturian architectural style has had a major influence on the religious architecture of the peninsula. Many of these special buildings are protected as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Santa Maria del Naranco is located in a green area about three kilometers north of the city. On the hill is the former summer palace of Asturian king Ramiro I built in 842. This was later converted into the pre-Romanesque church of Santa Maria del Naranco. The pre-Romanesque church of San Miguel de Lillo is also nearby.
The Cathedral of San Salvador was built in a late Gothic style. Construction began in 1388 and was completed in 1587. It is a basilica with a nave and two aisles. The roof of the nave is 20 meters high and is divided into five cross-vaulted sections.

The Plaza del Fontan is a rectangular square surrounded by arcades with restaurants and sidrerías (cider houses). The blue-painted Casa Ramón cider house is the only original building and next to the square is the El Fontán covered market.
Museo de Bellas Artes de Asturias is located on the square with the cathedral. The collection is housed in three old buildings and includes works by Spanish and Flemish painters such as Francisco Goya, El Greco and Pablo Picasso.
Campo de San Francisco is a city park in the center of the city.
The Palacio de Congresos de Oviedo is a large exhibition and conference space designed by the architect Santiago Calatrava.