# Two nights in Cabrales: the Cares route, the Bulnes funicular and cave cheese

A whole day for the Cares route from Poncebos and another for the Bulnes funicular and Cabrales cheese, sleeping in Arenas, 1 h 40 from Oviedo.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/asturias/cabrales/itineraries/two-nights-cares-and-bulnes-cabrales · Revisado: 2026-11-13

Dónde: Cabrales

Cabrales deserves two days: one for walking the Cares gorge from Poncebos, and another, calmer one for going up to Bulnes by funicular and understanding the cheese matured in its caves. With Arenas as your base, everything is less than a quarter of an hour from the hotel.

## Where to sleep

In Arenas, the Hotel Torrecerredo, with 19 rooms, home-cooked dinner and packed lunches; it lists a double with breakfast from €87 in low season. If you want to start the Cares without a bus or parking, the Hotel Arcea Mirador de Cabrales is in Poncebos and accepts pets.

## Getting around

By car to Arenas. In summer and on the transport plan's dates, the bus to Poncebos leaves Arenas every hour and costs €1.55 each way: there is nowhere to park in Poncebos.

## El plan

### Friday · 19:00 · Arrival in Arenas
An hour and forty minutes from Oviedo via the A-8 and AS-114, or an hour and twenty from Santander via Panes. Have dinner at Hotel Torrecerredo and ask for a packed lunch for the next day.

### Saturday · 8:30 · Cares route
Seasonal bus from Arenas to Poncebos or, out of season, drive to Poncebos. The gorge to Caín and back is a whole day: bring water, food and a head torch, and set off early.

### Saturday · 19:30 · Dinner in Arenas
Back at the hotel, with the home-cooked dinner that comes with half board.

### Sunday · 10:00 · Bulnes funicular
From Poncebos, every half hour, €22.16 return. Go up to Bulnes de Arriba and to the Urriellu viewpoint.

### Sunday · 13:30 · Cheese cave
In Arenas, the Fundación Cabrales cave exhibition: 45 minutes with a tasting, €6.

### Sunday · 15:00 · Pozo de la Oración and the drive back
For the Naranjo de Bulnes from the car, if it is clear, and back along the AS-114.

## Un consejo más

If Saturday dawns with fog or heavy rain, swap the days: the funicular and the cheese cave work just the same in bad weather.

## Cuándo no ir

The Cares in the middle of August at midday: set off before nine or choose September.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### How much does it cost?
Two nights with half board, the funicular and the cheese cave, between €200 and €280 per person.

### Can I do it with children?
The funicular and the cave, yes. The Cares is recommended from age 12; with little ones, do only a stretch.

### Do I need to book anything?
The hotel and, in summer, it is wise to call the cheese cave: the groups are of 20 people.

## Dónde dormir if you're driving
- **Hotel Torrecerredo**, desde 87 € / night: Pilar and Jim, guides as well as hoteliers
The Torrecerredo is run by its owners, Pilar and Jim, who speak Spanish and English and are mountain guides: they advise you on the route according to the weather and your legs. The house is also listed with Turismo Asturias as an active-tourism company dedicated to mountain sports, with hiking, crossings, climbing, canyoning, caving and mountain biking. It is a hotel designed for those who come to the Picos to be on the move and come back tired.
It is in the Vega district, about three minutes' walk from the centre of Arenas de Cabrales, with a garden, a terrace and mountain views. Turismo Asturias records it as a one-star hotel, with 19 rooms and 38 places.
Rooms, lounge and yoga
The 19 rooms have private bathroom, central heating, wifi and television with Netflix in several languages. There are doubles, triples and quadruples. The guests' lounge has sofas, large windows over the garden and a library, and once a week there is a yoga session. Turismo Asturias lists parking, a closed bike store with washing area and workshop, and a laundry.
What you pay
The website still publishes the 2025 rates, by number of people. With breakfast, one person pays €61 in low season and €71 in high; two people, €87 and €97; three, €110 and €120; four, €139 and €149. With half board, two people pay €137 in low season and €147 in high. High season is August and Easter. These are list prices and can drop with offers; ask for the one for your dates. In high season you book with no cancellation charges.
From the morning buffet to the picnic bag
Breakfast is a buffet: cereals, pastries, jam, ham, cheese, juice, coffee or tea and eggs made to order. In the evening there is a home-cooked menu that changes, with trout in cider, cachopo or Cabrales cheese, and from the dining room you see the mountain. For the day they prepare picnic bags: with one in your rucksack you can do the Cares or the Vega de Urriellu without relying on bars.
Arenas on foot
From the hotel you walk to the Cabrales cheese cave and the village bars, and the bus stop is less than 500 metres away. It is the accommodation for the two-night getaway with the Cares and Bulnes. It closes from 6 January to 26 March, according to Turismo Asturias.
- **Hotel Arcea Mirador de Cabrales**: The first gate to the Cares
The Mirador de Cabrales is at Puente Poncebos, the place where the Cares trail to Caín begins and where the Bulnes funicular leaves. Arenas de Cabrales is about ten minutes by car; Camarmeña, the village above, 1.6 km; Cangas de Onís 37 km and Covadonga 38. It is the hotel the Asturian chain Arcea has in Cabrales, with two stars.
What justifies sleeping here is the start time. In summer Poncebos fills up early, the car park runs out soon and the buses arrive; from the hotel you start walking when you like and return without thinking about the car, which you leave in its outdoor car park.
Three room types, all with a bath
Turismo Asturias counts 24 rooms and 44 places. The website distinguishes the single, with one bed; the double, with two beds; and the double with extra bed, with three beds for three people. The rooms have a desk, television, heating, tiled floor, wake-up service, toiletries and a bathroom with bath and shower and bidet.
The website does not publish fixed rates: the price comes up when you enter dates in its search engine, with no booking fees. It offers late check-out. Turismo Asturias records rates with breakfast and room only; confirm what yours includes when you book.
The cider house and the rest of the house
The hotel has its own cider house, with Asturian cooking, and a café bar. There is a small reading and games room with press, books and board games, a laundry, a safe, tourist information and rooms for celebrations. Reception is open 24 hours, useful if you come down late from Bulnes or the Cares. Turismo Asturias also lists a closed bike store and a bike-washing area.
Pets are welcome, according to the website; it publishes no supplement or limits, so ask when you book.
When it is open
It opens in the Cares season. According to Turismo Asturias, it closes from 13 October to 22 March, so between November and March look for a bed in Sotres, at Casa Cipriano, which closes only on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day; in Arenas, the Hotel Torrecerredo is open until 6 January. For Easter and summer, book early: it is the accommodation closest to the start of the trail.
- **Hotel Rural Casa Cipriano**: At the end of the road, between two massifs
Sotres is the highest village in Cabrales and lies on the divide between the central and eastern massifs of the Picos de Europa, at the end of a mountain road that climbs from Poncebos. Casa Cipriano has been in the village since 1969: it began as a bar with a few beds and an eatery, and the same family has turned it into a second-category country hotel, with a restaurant and a guiding company.
Sleeping here makes sense if you come to walk. You leave the door for the Vega de Urriellu, beneath the Naranjo de Bulnes, and on your return you do not have to drive at night along the Poncebos road.
Sixteen rooms facing the central massif
There are fourteen doubles, one triple and one single, all with private bathroom, telephone and television, with views of the central massif. The website does not publish prices or photos of each type: the rate is requested by phone, by email or with the website form. Nor does it say whether pets are allowed or detail the breakfast, beyond saying that the house's pastries are served at breakfast and lunch: ask when you book.
Turismo Asturias records the establishment's closure only on 31 December and 1 January, so it is open in winter too, when the house organises ski-touring outings.
The house guides and taxi
Casa Cipriano's guide company is made up of high-mountain sports technicians and was a pioneer in Sotres. They offer hiking, crossings, climbing, ascents of the Picos peaks, caving and canyoning, and in winter ski touring. They do not publish prices: ask at reception.
The 4x4 taxi solves what the road does not: it takes you to the start of a route, picks you up at the end, takes you to other villages or drops you at a connection with other transport. Book at the hotel or on 630 916 032.
Eating, parking and leaving the bike
On the ground floor is the house restaurant, serving home-style Asturian cooking, with suckling kid and the fabada made with farm fabes as the main dishes, and options for coeliacs. The bar is rustic, with a fireplace and a terrace, and free wifi in the common areas. They have private free parking beside the hotel. Turismo Asturias lists a closed bike store and a workshop area with tools, useful if you come by bicycle.
From Sotres you can also walk to Bulnes via Pandébano, and going down to Poncebos you have the Bulnes funicular and the start of the Cares.
- **Camping Naranjo de Bulnes**, desde 53 € / night: Riverside pitches and mountain pitches
The campsite is at kilometre 32.5 of the Arenas to Panes road, on the way out of Arenas de Cabrales, with direct access to the River Cares. It is large: Turismo Asturias counts 196 pitches and room for 677 people, in the second category. The pitches are divided into two areas, the river one and the mountain one, with 61 m² and up to four people each, among trees and grass and with an electricity hook-up. The public transport stop is less than 500 metres away.
Bungalows with porches and bunk cabins
The bungalows go from two to six places: the two-person one has one bedroom and 34 m²; the four-person, two bedrooms and 61 m²; the six-person, two bedrooms and 75 m². There is also a hórreo-shaped bungalow for five. All have a porch.
The cabins are something else: for two to four people, with four bunk beds, a socket, heating, a wardrobe, a covered porch with garden furniture and their own parking. They have no bathroom, you use the campsite's toilets, and they do not include bedding or towels: bring them or sleep in a sleeping bag.
Published prices for 2026
The cabin costs €53 a night for two in low season and €62 in high; for four, €72 and €80. The two-person bungalow, €92 and €112; the six-person, €152 and €175. For camping you pay per item: adult €8 (€9.50 in high season), child €5.50 (€7), car €5.50 (€6.50), small tent €7 (€8), family tent €8.50 (€9.50), motorhome €10.50 (€12) and electricity €6. Two adults with a car and a small tent come to €28.50 a night in low season, without electricity. In 2026 high season was Easter and 11 July to 27 August.
Showers, bar and shared kitchen
The bar restaurant opens at 8:00, has a large terrace and cooks dishes from the area. There is a social lounge with a fireplace, a children's playground, hot showers 24 hours a day, an adapted bathroom, a baby toilet, a laundry, an emptying and filling point for caravans and motorhomes, and a shared area with fridges, freezer, microwave and tables, for ten people at most.
Dates, hours and dogs
It is closed now: the website announces it opens at the start of the next season, and Turismo Asturias gives the closure as 3 November to 15 March. Pitches are taken from 8:30 to 22:00 and bungalows and cabins from 15:30 to 22:00; if you arrive outside those hours, let reception know. On departure day you must leave everything before 12:00.
Dogs are allowed on pitches, with vaccinations up to date and always under control, both inside and outside the pitch. They are not allowed in bungalows and cabins, nor are potentially dangerous breeds.
Walking without taking the car
The website proposes several outings from the campsite itself: a circular of about two hours that climbs through the woods towards Nava and returns by track, and the Pozo de la Oración viewpoint, an easy hour towards Poo de Cabrales with a view of the Naranjo de Bulnes. In Arenas you have the Cabrales cheese cave, and the Cares trail starts at Poncebos.