Casa Cipriano Restaurant, in Sotres
What to order: the fabada or the stewed suckling kid, and the blackberry tart for dessert
They have alternatives for coeliacs
geocalia
Day itinerary · 43.30° N · 4.82° W
A day in Cabrales: the village without a road in the morning, the cheese cave in the afternoon.
You go up to Bulnes on the funicular from Poncebos, have fabada or kid in Sotres and go down to a cave where Cabrales cheese matures. 1 h 40 from Oviedo.
Leaving from
Part of CabralesPicos de EuropaUnusual places to stay in SpainCantabrian CoastCamino del Norte
Add to my trip
Total time10 h
By car1 h 30 each way
Walking1 h 30 in Bulnes and Sotres
DifficultyEasy, with slopes
Cost€55–75 pp
Best timeJune – October
With childrenYes, from age 6 in the cave
With dogsNot on the funicular or in the dairy
The plan
The day at a glance
Any part can be swapped for another without spoiling the day.
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Leave Oviedo 1 h 30 by car
via the A-8 to Arriondas, Cangas de Onís and the AS-114 to Arenas
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Funicular from Poncebos to Bulnes
€22.16 return · departures every 30 min · go up to Bulnes de Arriba and the Urriellu viewpoint
- 30 min by car11,5 km
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Casa Cipriano Restaurant, in Sotres
Casa Cipriano · fabada or suckling kid · €€ · booking
33554 Sotres, Cabrales · +34 985 945 024
Restaurant €€Book - 1 min on foot
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Visit to a Cabrales dairy and its cave, in Sotres or Arenas
Quesería Maín · €12.50 · 2 h with cave and tasting · book on its website only
+34 618 938 044
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Back home
In Oviedo around 21:00
Approximate cost
About €35–50 per person
Adds up the activities and meals in the plan at their published prices; travel and accommodation not included.
The route
Funicular from Poncebos to Bulnes
Cabrales can be seen in a day without doing the Cares route. This plan goes up in the morning to Bulnes, the village that no road reaches, on the Poncebos funicular; eats in Sotres, the highest village in the municipality, in a walkers' eatery, and ends by going down to a natural cave where a family matures its Cabrales cheese.
The day, hour by hour
8:30 · Set off. From Oviedo, the A-8 to Arriondas and then Cangas de Onís and the AS-114 to Arenas and Poncebos. It is a little over an hour and a half. In summer and on the dates of the transport plan, leave the car at Arenas and take the 10:00 bus up to Poncebos.
10:30 · Funicular to Bulnes. It leaves every half hour from Poncebos, next to the start of the Cares. At the top, go round La Villa, climb to Bulnes de Arriba and walk to the Urriellu viewpoint, a quarter of an hour away. Come down at midday.
13:45 · Lunch at Casa Cipriano. From Poncebos to Sotres is 11 km of mountain road, about 23 minutes. Fabada made with beans from the farm or suckling kid stewed with small potatoes, and blackberry tart. Book by phone.
16:30 · Maín Cheese Dairy. A few steps away, in Sotres itself. The visit starts in the workshop, climbs on foot for a quarter of an hour to a cave where the cheeses mature and comes back for a tasting of the house's three cheeses. Two hours. Check in inside the dairy on arrival.
18:45 · Head home. In Oviedo around nine.
How much it costs
The funicular, €22.16 return; the dairy, €12.50; lunch, between €20 and €35 per person. With the Arenas bus, €3.10 more. In total, between €55 and €75 per person, not counting the car.
Time3 h
Where to eat
Where to eat?
Lunch is half the plan: book before you set off.
Map
The stops, in order
With where to park at each one.
What to do
Eat
88 €Stay
Services
Getting there
By car or without one?
When to go
When to go to Cabrales
From June to October, when Bulnes and Sotres are liveliest and the mountain roads are clear. In summer, go up to Poncebos on the bus from Arenas. Quesería Maín is closed for holidays until December 2026: check its website before fixing a date.
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Best timeGood timeLow season
Tips
Worth knowing first
- 1Book the dairy before anything else
Maín only takes bookings on its website, non-refundable, and places are few.
- 2Funicular first thing
The departures before eleven are emptier.
We'd skip it
A Saturday in August with a car as far as Poncebos: there is nowhere to park.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take from Oviedo?
A little over an hour and a half to Arenas, and ten minutes more to Poncebos.
Can children go?
Yes to the funicular. The Maín cave is not recommended for under-6s; with little ones, swap the afternoon for the cave exhibition at Arenas.
Can you do it in winter?
The funicular runs all year. Quesería Maín is closed for holidays in November 2026.
More plans like this
Other days of walking and good food
geocalia.com/en/spain/asturias/cabrales/itineraries/funicular-cheese-dairy-and-sotres
Prices, opening hours and times are approximate: check them before you go. Each place has its own page on Geocalia.