43.30° N · 4.82° W
What to do in Cabrales: the cheese cave at Arenas, the Bulnes funicular, cheese dairies with caves at Sotres, the route to Urriellu and where to sleep by the Cares.
Part of Picos de EuropaUnusual places to stay in SpainCantabrian CoastCamino del Norte
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Guided visit · 45 min · €6, children €4 · A natural cave that explains how Cabrales is made, with a tasting at the end
Funicular from Poncebos · Every 30 min · €22.16 return · To the Picos de Europa village with no road
Working dairy · 45 min to 2 h · From €8 · The milking, the workshop and the cave where Cabrales ripens, with tasting
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
June, September and early October: snow-free routes and fewer people than in August, when Poncebos fills up from first thing. In winter the cheese cave and the funicular stay open, but the high mountain is for properly equipped mountaineers.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
You reach Cabrales by car on the AS-114, from Cangas de Onís in the west or from Panes in the east, and Arenas is the base: from there leave the road to Poncebos and, from Poncebos, the one to Sotres. In summer the car stays in Arenas and you go up on the Principality bus, because in Poncebos there is nowhere to park.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
Cabrales with children is more about cheese and the funicular than big walks. The visits are short, almost everything is less than half an hour from Arenas and the Naranjo de Bulnes is shown from a viewpoint next to the car.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: Small 19-room hotel in the Vega district, three minutes' walk from the centre of Arenas de Cabrales, with a garden, mountain views and home-cooked dinner.
Why we like it: Two-star hotel at Puente Poncebos, at the foot of the Cares trail and the Bulnes funicular, with its own cider house. Pets welcome; closed in winter.
Why we like it: Family-run country hotel in Sotres with 16 rooms, views of the central massif, an Asturian cooking restaurant, mountain guides and a 4x4 taxi.
Why we like it: Campsite beside the River Cares on the way out of Arenas towards Panes, with riverside and mountain pitches, bungalows and bunk cabins. Closed November to March.
Why we like it: Staffed refuge of the Asturian federation at 1,960 m, in the Vega de Urriellu, at the foot of the Naranjo de Bulnes: continuous bunks, dinner and breakfast.
Services for this trip
Areas, for any way of travelling
| Area | Who it's for | Average night |
|---|---|---|
| Arenas de Cabrales | Hotels, cheese cave, cheese dairies, bus to Poncebos | |
| Poncebos and Bulnes | Cares trail, funicular, village with no road | |
| Sotres | Highest village, cheese dairy with cave, climb to Urriellu |
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: the fabada or the stewed suckling kid, and the blackberry tart for dessert
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
Tips
There is no room at Poncebos and Ovar fills up first thing.
Inside the exhibition cave it is between 10 and 15 degrees all year.
Maín takes online bookings only, non-refundable, and in November 2026 it closes for holidays until December.
Cabrales is the council area of the central massif of the Picos de Europa, east of Cangas de Onís. It has three names known outside Asturias: the blue cheese that ripens in its caves, the Cares trail, which starts at Poncebos, and the Picu Urriellu, or Naranjo de Bulnes, which looms over its valleys. Arenas de Cabrales is the town where you sleep, eat and catch the bus into the mountains.
By car. From Oviedo it is 1 h 40, along the A-8 to Arriondas and then via Cangas de Onís and the AS-114; from Santander, 1 h 20, via Panes and the same AS-114. From Arenas the road to Poncebos runs about 6 km through the Cares gorge, and from Poncebos the narrow mountain road to Sotres.
On the busiest dates, in 2026 from 1 June to 12 October, Easter and the weekends in May, the practical thing is to leave the car at Arenas and go up on the seasonal bus: roughly every hour, €1.55 to Poncebos and €2.60 to Sotres. The Ovar car park, with about 146 spaces 1.2 km from Poncebos, fills up early, and next to the funicular only locals and buses may park.
There is much more than the gorge. The Bulnes funicular climbs from Poncebos to a village that no road reaches, with departures every half hour all year, for €22.16 return. In Arenas, the cheese cave exhibition tells the story of Cabrales in 45 minutes inside a natural cave, and two cheese dairies open their doors: Vega de Tordín, in Arenas, with its livestock farm, and Maín, in Sotres, with a walk to the cave where its cheeses ripen (visit to a cheese dairy). To see the Naranjo without walking, the Pozo de la Oración and Asiegu viewpoints, beside the road.
The classic route is Sotres to the Vega de Urriellu, at the foot of the Naranjo: 24 km there and back and 1,070 metres of climb, about seven and a half hours according to the National Park. The Cares trail, from Poncebos to Caín, is the other great day. In both cases, set out early, bring water and a jacket, and check the weather: mist comes in fast even in summer.
In Arenas, the Hotel Torrecerredo has 19 rooms, a garden and home-cooked dinner, and the Camping Naranjo de Bulnes offers pitches by the river and bungalows. To start the Cares without hunting for parking, the Hotel Arcea Mirador de Cabrales is in Poncebos itself and accepts pets. In Sotres, Casa Cipriano is a hotel, a restaurant serving fabada and kid goat, and a guides' house since 1969.
A day covers the Bulnes funicular and the cheese cave. With two nights you add the Cares or the climb to Urriellu without rushing, and a morning in Sotres at the cheese dairy. Cangas de Onís is about 30 km away, 35 minutes along the AS-114: they combine well in a weekend.
Questions
€17.61 single and €22.16 return; ages 4 to 12, €4.32 and €6.71.
Yes: the one at Quesería Maín, in Sotres, with a guided visit and tasting. In Arenas, the Fundación Cabrales exhibition cave explains the process.
On the bus that leaves Arenas, roughly every hour, for €1.55 each way.
On the routes, on a lead: in the National Park it is forbidden to let them run loose. They are not allowed in the cheese cave or the cheese dairies.
The cheese cave exhibition and a cheese dairy in Arenas; the funicular runs regardless.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/asturias/cabrales
