# A weekend in Liébana, an hour and three quarters from Santander: Fuente Dé, Potes and the La Hermida hot springs

Two nights in the Camaleño valley to ride the Fuente Dé cable car and walk down via Áliva, see Potes and Santo Toribio and finish in the thermal pools of La Hermida. An hour and three quarters from Santander.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/cantabria/liebana-and-potes/itineraries/liebana-fuente-de-weekend-la-hermida-hot-springs · Revisado: 2026-11-12

Dónde: Liébana and Potes

Liébana is an hour and three quarters from Santander and about two hours from Oviedo, and asks for two nights: it is a closed valley entered by the La Hermida gorge, with the Fuente Dé cable car at the far end and Potes in the middle. This weekend you go up into the high mountains without climbing anything, walk down among meadows, eat Liébana stew and finish in the thermal pools of the gorge.

## When to go?

From May to October, with the cable car on long hours and Áliva free of snow. September and October are quiet and mild. In August, the cable car queues are long. In November 2026 the cable car closes for a few weeks for works from the 16th, and the Parador de Fuente Dé closes from 22 December to 23 February.

WhatHow muchNote

Fuente Dé cable car€20–30 return€13–17 up only

Via ferrata with a guideFrom €70 ppCamaleño from €50 for families

La Hermida thermal caveFrom €3090 min, from age 3

Santo Toribio, Potes, ÁlivaFreeLignum Crucis Monday to Saturday

## Where to sleep?

The Posada San Pelayo is a 13-room manor house with a garden crossed by a stream, from €90 a double. The Hotel del Oso, in Cosgaya, has 50 rooms, a pool and family rooms, from €87. The Parador de Fuente Dé is at the foot of the cable car and admits pets. To sleep in the thermal water, the four-star Hotel Balneario La Hermida.

## With children or if the weather doesn't cooperate

With children, swap the long descent for the there-and-back walk towards Áliva, under two hours, and the ferrata for the Camaleño one or the Navedo canyon from age 8. If there is strong wind the cable car closes: spend Saturday on Potes, Santo Toribio and the spa.

## El plan

### Friday · 19:30 · Arrival in the Camaleño valley
Via the A-8 to Unquera and the N-621 through the gorge. Sleep at the Posada San Pelayo, a manor house with a garden and pool a few kilometres from Potes, or at the Hotel del Oso, in Cosgaya.

### Saturday · 9:30 · Fuente Dé cable car
Buy only the ride up, €13 in low season. In four minutes you are at 1,823 metres, at El Cable.

### Saturday · 10:00 · Walk down via the Áliva passes
14.5 km downhill, about four and a quarter hours, on a track among meadows and through the Valdecoro forest to Fuente Dé. Bring water, food and a warm layer.

### Saturday · 15:00 · Late lunch at the parador
At the foot of the cable car, Liébana stew or sirloin with Tresviso cheese.

### Sunday · 9:30 · Via ferrata with a guide
With Liébana Aventura: La Hermida if you already have experience, Camaleño if not. Private group.

### Sunday · 14:00 · Stew in Potes and Santo Toribio
Casa Cayo, in the centre, and then the monastery, 3 km away: church and cloister from 16:00 to 19:00.

### Sunday · 17:30 · Thermal cave and the drive back
Ninety minutes in the 38 °C pools of the La Hermida Spa, booked. Then you are on the road home.

## Un consejo más

Buy the cable car online a day ahead and check the webcam before you set off: they don't refund the ticket for fog.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### How long does it take from Santander?
About 110 km, an hour and three quarters to Potes.

### Do I need experience to walk down via Áliva?
No: it is track and path of low difficulty, but it takes over four hours.

### Can I bring a dog?
Yes: in the cable car in a carrier and on a lead in the National Park. The Parador de Fuente Dé admits pets.

### Where is it best to sleep?
In the Camaleño valley, between Potes and Fuente Dé: you reach the cable car early.

## Dónde dormir if you're driving
- **Parador de Fuente Dé**: Where the Camaleño valley road ends, inside the Picos de Europa National Park and a few steps from the cable car's lower station, is the Parador de Fuente Dé. It is a modern mountain building, with warm interiors, spacious rooms and lounges that look onto the walls of the Fuente Dé cirque. At night, when the cable car closes and the cars leave, Fuente Dé falls silent.
At the foot of the cable car and the Áliva route
The reason to sleep here is to be at the door of the mountain. In the morning you walk to the cable car ticket office before the cars from Potes arrive; from October to the end of the year it opens at 10:00 on weekdays and at 9:00 at weekends. At the top begins the descent through the Áliva pastures, 14.5 km that end again at Fuente Dé, at the parador's door.
In November 2026: the cable car closes for works from 16 November, for a few weeks. If you book for those dates, count on there being no ride up.
With a dog, a bike, an electric car
The parador admits pets, with conditions to read when booking. Note that in the National Park the dog must always be on a lead and that on the cable car it goes up only in a closed carrier, with a supplement. It is set up for cycle tourists and has an electric-car charging point.
Dining without going down to the valley
The parador restaurant serves Liébana cooking: cocido, Liébana cheeses, sirloin with Tresviso cheese and local meats. It is also open to those who are not staying, so in summer it is wise to book a table even if you are sleeping in the building.
The road to the very end
From Santander it is 135 km: the A-8 to Unquera, the N-621 through the La Hermida Gorge to Potes and, from there, the Fuente Dé road until it runs out. The last kilometres climb the Camaleño valley through Cosgaya and Espinama.
Closed in the harshest winter
It closes from 22 to 31 December 2026 and from 1 January to 23 February 2027. For summer and long weekends, book in good time. Telephone, 942 736 651; email, fuentede@parador.es. Tourist registration number: G-5129.
- **Hotel del Oso**, desde 87 € / night: Two mountain-style buildings, of ashlar stone and timber, with 50 rooms between them: that is the Hotel del Oso, in Cosgaya, a village in the Camaleño valley on the road that climbs from Potes to Fuente Dé. It is run by the Rivas family. For those travelling with children, the useful part is inside the grounds: a garden with a pool, a tennis court and a play area.
Cosgaya, between Potes and the cable car
Sleeping here leaves you halfway between the two things people come to Liébana to see: the Fuente Dé cable car, up the road, and Potes with the Santo Toribio monastery, down the road. To get around the valley you need a car. Note that the cable car closes for works from 16 November 2026 for a few weeks.
Double, family and connecting rooms
Most are doubles; there are also singles, family rooms and connecting rooms. Ask how many people fit in each when you book. All have television, telephone, a safe and a hairdryer, and views of the surroundings. For babies a cot is available on request.
What each season costs


RoomLowJune and SeptemberEaster, July and August


Double€87€98€115
Single€77€82€95
Family€130€140€162
Connecting€145€155€176
Extra bed€28€32€36


Prices per night with VAT included. Breakfast is paid separately: the buffet costs €14 per adult and €7.50 for children up to age 10, and at the bar there is a mini breakfast for €7.50.
Pool, tennis and a hórreo to play in
The garden has an outdoor pool and a tennis court. The children have their own play area, with a little house and an hórreo (granary). The terrace looks onto the river and the village church, and inside there are several stone-and-timber lounges, with a fireplace for winter.
Dining without taking the car
For dinner you do not have to go anywhere: its restaurant publishes the menu with prices, with the cocido lebaniego at €14, mushroom-stuffed trotters and homemade desserts at €7.
- **Posada San Pelayo**, desde 90 € / night: Posada San Pelayo is a traditional stone manor house in the centre of San Pelayo, a hamlet in the Camaleño valley 5 km from Potes in the direction of Fuente Dé. It has 13 rooms, a garden of about 2,000 m² with local trees and plants, crossed by the Purón stream, and an outdoor pool with the Picos de Europa as a backdrop. It is run by a family, and is away from the bustle of Potes but 5 km from its restaurants.
The San Pelayo turn-off
You leave Potes along the Fuente Dé road and, after about 5 km, turn right where it says San Pelayo; the inn is in the middle of the village. From here, the Santo Toribio monastery is also 5 km away and the Fuente Dé cable car, 15. To go to the coast, San Vicente de la Barquera is 57 km away, the El Soplao caves 60 and Santander 113.
Balcony or attic
The 13 rooms differ in size, shape and decoration. Many have large windows or a balcony onto the National Park and the garden. All have satellite television, telephone, heating, a kettle and a full bathroom with hairdryer and toiletries. The price depends on whether it has a balcony or is an attic room:


DoubleLow seasonJune and SeptemberJuly, August, Easter and long weekends


With balcony€100€110€120
Attic€90€95€105


Prices per night with VAT. Breakfast is charged separately, at €12 per person.
The house inside
Downstairs there is a reading and games room with a library, a rest corner with a fireplace and free internet, and a bar-café. There is wifi throughout the house, room service, luggage storage and tourist information. Parking is private and free.
Deposit, arrival and cancellation
You check in from 16:00 and leave the room by 11:30. To confirm the booking they ask for a deposit of at least the price of the first night. If you cancel or change between 30 and 7 days before arrival, they may keep half the deposit; with less than 7 days, all of it. If you shorten your stay once there, you pay for the nights used and the deposit is not returned.
The website says nothing about pets or children's beds: ask on 942 733 210 or 615 604 895, or at informacion@posadasanpelayo.com.
- **Hotel Balneario La Hermida**: The Hotel Balneario La Hermida is at the bottom of the gorge of the same name, beside the Panes to Potes road, in the municipality of Peñarrubia. It is a four-star, 57-room hotel built over baths that have been used since the 18th century: the water rises from three springs at about 60 °C, at eight litres per second. What sets it apart from sleeping in Potes is that, with the room, you have the thermal circuit every day and the outdoor thermal cave a few steps away.
The circuit comes with the room
According to the listing for its rooms, the guest can use the thermal-leisure circuit for 80 minutes a day, booking a time. It is the covered circuit of eleven stations, with sauna, steam, cold bath, jacuzzi and a dynamic pool of jets and water beds. The outdoor thermal cave, with pools at 38 °C at the foot of the rock, is paid separately; there are half-board packages that include the night session, from 23:00 to 01:00, for adults only.
Three types of room, all exterior
The rooms are classic: standard, white-zone and attic. The standard is 20 m², and all face outside, with a view of the canyon landscape. They have air conditioning, a minibar, a flat-screen television, a hairdryer and wifi. The hotel has a lift and a gym. Smoking is not allowed in the rooms. The website does not publish check-in and check-out times: ask when you book.
Río Deva and the café with a terrace over the canyon
The restaurant, Río Deva, serves home-style Liébana cooking: cocido montañés, local meats and a good variety of cheeses, with a daily thermal menu and a seasonal menu of meats, game, fish and vegetables. The cellar combines young wines with well-known Riojas and Riberas.
The café is open to customers and visitors, with a terrace and chill-out area facing the gorge and the río Deva, a fireplace, board games and sports on screen.
Midweek packages in autumn
From 26 September to 22 December the spa sells packages of one to three nights (Special, Premium, Indian, Combo) that are not valid for Fridays, Saturdays or long weekends. The treatment menu runs from the 20-minute craniofacial massage, at €45, to the 90-minute Indian ritual, from €129.
Getting there and parking
Address: carretera La Hermida a Potes, s/n, 39580 La Hermida. It is 90 km from Santander airport and 172 from Asturias airport; from Madrid, about 500 km. The hotel has parking, which is booked through an external platform linked on its website; ask whether it has a cost.
From here, the gorge offers the next day: the La Hermida via ferrata and the Navedo canyon start in the same canyon, and Potes is about 20 km up the road.

## Dónde dormir if you're on foot
- **Parador de Fuente Dé**: Where the Camaleño valley road ends, inside the Picos de Europa National Park and a few steps from the cable car's lower station, is the Parador de Fuente Dé. It is a modern mountain building, with warm interiors, spacious rooms and lounges that look onto the walls of the Fuente Dé cirque. At night, when the cable car closes and the cars leave, Fuente Dé falls silent.
At the foot of the cable car and the Áliva route
The reason to sleep here is to be at the door of the mountain. In the morning you walk to the cable car ticket office before the cars from Potes arrive; from October to the end of the year it opens at 10:00 on weekdays and at 9:00 at weekends. At the top begins the descent through the Áliva pastures, 14.5 km that end again at Fuente Dé, at the parador's door.
In November 2026: the cable car closes for works from 16 November, for a few weeks. If you book for those dates, count on there being no ride up.
With a dog, a bike, an electric car
The parador admits pets, with conditions to read when booking. Note that in the National Park the dog must always be on a lead and that on the cable car it goes up only in a closed carrier, with a supplement. It is set up for cycle tourists and has an electric-car charging point.
Dining without going down to the valley
The parador restaurant serves Liébana cooking: cocido, Liébana cheeses, sirloin with Tresviso cheese and local meats. It is also open to those who are not staying, so in summer it is wise to book a table even if you are sleeping in the building.
The road to the very end
From Santander it is 135 km: the A-8 to Unquera, the N-621 through the La Hermida Gorge to Potes and, from there, the Fuente Dé road until it runs out. The last kilometres climb the Camaleño valley through Cosgaya and Espinama.
Closed in the harshest winter
It closes from 22 to 31 December 2026 and from 1 January to 23 February 2027. For summer and long weekends, book in good time. Telephone, 942 736 651; email, fuentede@parador.es. Tourist registration number: G-5129.
- **Hotel del Oso**, desde 87 € / night: Two mountain-style buildings, of ashlar stone and timber, with 50 rooms between them: that is the Hotel del Oso, in Cosgaya, a village in the Camaleño valley on the road that climbs from Potes to Fuente Dé. It is run by the Rivas family. For those travelling with children, the useful part is inside the grounds: a garden with a pool, a tennis court and a play area.
Cosgaya, between Potes and the cable car
Sleeping here leaves you halfway between the two things people come to Liébana to see: the Fuente Dé cable car, up the road, and Potes with the Santo Toribio monastery, down the road. To get around the valley you need a car. Note that the cable car closes for works from 16 November 2026 for a few weeks.
Double, family and connecting rooms
Most are doubles; there are also singles, family rooms and connecting rooms. Ask how many people fit in each when you book. All have television, telephone, a safe and a hairdryer, and views of the surroundings. For babies a cot is available on request.
What each season costs


RoomLowJune and SeptemberEaster, July and August


Double€87€98€115
Single€77€82€95
Family€130€140€162
Connecting€145€155€176
Extra bed€28€32€36


Prices per night with VAT included. Breakfast is paid separately: the buffet costs €14 per adult and €7.50 for children up to age 10, and at the bar there is a mini breakfast for €7.50.
Pool, tennis and a hórreo to play in
The garden has an outdoor pool and a tennis court. The children have their own play area, with a little house and an hórreo (granary). The terrace looks onto the river and the village church, and inside there are several stone-and-timber lounges, with a fireplace for winter.
Dining without taking the car
For dinner you do not have to go anywhere: its restaurant publishes the menu with prices, with the cocido lebaniego at €14, mushroom-stuffed trotters and homemade desserts at €7.
- **Posada San Pelayo**, desde 90 € / night: Posada San Pelayo is a traditional stone manor house in the centre of San Pelayo, a hamlet in the Camaleño valley 5 km from Potes in the direction of Fuente Dé. It has 13 rooms, a garden of about 2,000 m² with local trees and plants, crossed by the Purón stream, and an outdoor pool with the Picos de Europa as a backdrop. It is run by a family, and is away from the bustle of Potes but 5 km from its restaurants.
The San Pelayo turn-off
You leave Potes along the Fuente Dé road and, after about 5 km, turn right where it says San Pelayo; the inn is in the middle of the village. From here, the Santo Toribio monastery is also 5 km away and the Fuente Dé cable car, 15. To go to the coast, San Vicente de la Barquera is 57 km away, the El Soplao caves 60 and Santander 113.
Balcony or attic
The 13 rooms differ in size, shape and decoration. Many have large windows or a balcony onto the National Park and the garden. All have satellite television, telephone, heating, a kettle and a full bathroom with hairdryer and toiletries. The price depends on whether it has a balcony or is an attic room:


DoubleLow seasonJune and SeptemberJuly, August, Easter and long weekends


With balcony€100€110€120
Attic€90€95€105


Prices per night with VAT. Breakfast is charged separately, at €12 per person.
The house inside
Downstairs there is a reading and games room with a library, a rest corner with a fireplace and free internet, and a bar-café. There is wifi throughout the house, room service, luggage storage and tourist information. Parking is private and free.
Deposit, arrival and cancellation
You check in from 16:00 and leave the room by 11:30. To confirm the booking they ask for a deposit of at least the price of the first night. If you cancel or change between 30 and 7 days before arrival, they may keep half the deposit; with less than 7 days, all of it. If you shorten your stay once there, you pay for the nights used and the deposit is not returned.
The website says nothing about pets or children's beds: ask on 942 733 210 or 615 604 895, or at informacion@posadasanpelayo.com.