The entrance to the village of Lois with its monumental church, known as the cathedral of the mountain, in the background

       One of the first trips we made was to Lois following the course of the river Dueñas, in the valley of  Crémenes.

        Lois is proud to own the "Cathedral of the Mountain", a monumental church worthy of a visit.

       The views we contemplated were spectacular walking along sidewalks surrounded by high cliffs where we saw the flight of the eagle.

       In the surroundings of Lois, as well as across the region, there are many routes for trekking, some well-identified and with different levels of difficulty to choose.

          From Posada de Valdeón to Cain the road becomes narrower and very dangerous, especially in the last part near Cain. We begged not to find any other vehicle coming in the opposite direction; it would had been impossible to cross.  The road ends in Cain where  we left  the car and, indeed, bought nuts, that were at their best at this time of the year.

          The river Cares is born in Picos de Europa and, running northward through a gorge carved in the limestone cliffs, it forms an impressive canyon called La Garganta del Cares, also known as Garganta Divina (The Divine Throat) up to ending in the Cantabrian Sea. The route, without too much uphill work, is about 12 km. It circulates parallel to the river offering to walkers a really unforgettable scenery all the way. The track was made at the beginning of the last century by Eléctrica del Viesgo to monitor a water channel from Cain to the hydroelectric power station of Poncebos in Asturias.

 We began in Cain and walked for about  4 km. to return later to the starting point. There is a small dam at the beginning where water enters the channel. At this point the river and the pathway are at the same level. As we walked further the river became deeper and deeper in the valley, so the road runs a considerable heigh from the river.  This part can be dangerous for people suffering from vertigo, since there is no protection at the border.

In some places the rock walls are so close to each other that they can almost be touched with both arms stretched out (photo 1). We travelled several tunnels carved from the rocks with wide side openings letting in daylight (photos 3, 5 and 6), some of them difficult to pass. There are also several bridges that cross the river at great height providing wonderful views (picture 3). In some places the river is deafening noise and the height of the mountain summits almost conceal the sky (photos 1 and 3). There are trees coming up from the rocky crevices, keeping positions really implausible (picture 2). The rockslides are common (picture 4), being conveniently warned. It is not uncommon to surprise the flight of some bird of great size (eagle, vulture ...).

The last day of our stay we drove to the mountain pass Puerto de Tarna, natural boundary that separates the provinces of Leon from Asturias. From there we continue down the AS-17  to the village Campo de Caso following the course of the River Nalón.

The Puerto de Tarna, located at 1,490 m. altitude, belongs to the council of Caso in the Nature Reserve of Redes. This park includes almost all the Nalón River Basin.

Going down the Asturian side, summits get softened. There are remnants of glaciers circuses.

          The vegetation is very abundant, forming vast forests of beech and oak trees that give shelter to the brown bear, the wolf and the fauna of the mountains of Northern Spain.

          The trees, ready for autumn, showed the whole palette of ochres, yellows and reds.

Finally, we arrived at the village Campo de Caso  in Asturias, which  was holding a market, and, after visiting a craftsmanship show, and spending there the rest of the day, we returned back to Riaño.