Laguna de los Peces and Laguna de las Yeguas

From the Park House a mountain road climbs through San Martín de Castañeda, with viewpoints over the lake, to the car park at the Laguna de los Peces, on the plateau of the Sierra Segundera. Natural Heritage suggests it as a drive of about 45 km from the Park House, three hours with stops. Up here the landscape changes: you leave the oak forest and enter a highland of granite, heather and glacial lakes.

The walk to the Laguna de las Yeguas

Trail 9 of the Natural Park leaves from the Laguna de los Peces car park and reaches the Laguna de las Yeguas: linear, 6 km and about two hours, with low difficulty according to the Junta. It is the easiest walk for getting to know the upper part of the park, which gathers more than twenty lakes scattered across the mountains. You come back the same way. There are no trees or shade, and the wind is noticeable even when it is a fine day below, so bring a jacket, a hat and water.

For mountain walkers: Peña Trevinca

From the same car park starts trail 7, to Peña Trevinca, the highest point of the protected area at 2,172 metres. It is 24 km circular, about ten hours, 400 m of ascent and high difficulty. The Junta advises against doing it in fog, which on this plateau comes in fast and wipes out any landmark. It is a route for people used to finding their way in the mountains; the GR 84 also crosses the sierra with stages between refuges.

When to go up

From May to October, without snow. In winter the road may have snow or ice, and the plateau, blizzards. Ask at the Park House, on the lake road at Rabanillo, about the state of the road and the trails: they also give you the map there. Take water and something to eat for the walk on the plateau.

How to combine it

The road passes through San Martín de Castañeda: stop at the San Martín monastery if it is open and at the viewpoint over the lake. If you are staying in Puebla, a full day could be going up in the morning to the lakes, coming down for lunch and finishing the afternoon at the lake beaches. With children, the walk to the Laguna de las Yeguas is manageable if they already walk for a couple of hours; for the smallest, it is enough to go as far as the Laguna de los Peces, next to the car park.