No experience necessary! You just need a good level of fitness to enjoy the winter tranquility of the Picos and the highest peaks of the Cantabrian mountain chain, just an hour and a half inland from Santander.
The area is a National Park and Unesco Biosphere Reserve. Although there is one cable car, there are no ski lifts. This means we rarely see other people on our days out in the snow. You’re more likely to see ravens, choughs and Griffon vultures.
We’ll provide you with snowshoes and walking poles so you’ll just need to bring your own comfortable walking boots and a pair of gaiters. If you’d like to bag some peaks on our routes we can also equip you with ice axe and crampons.
Overview
Join us on a Snowshoeing holiday in the Picos de Europa mountains, Spain. This northern Spanish range is stunning and the walking very rewarding.
Itinerary
You'll be met at Santander airport and on arrival at our rustic guesthouse base, the first evening will be spent settling in and getting to know each other while enjoying a home-cooked 3-course meal.
The next 6 days we'll be exploring a mixture of different snowy landscapes among the limestone crags of the central and eastern massifs of the Picos and the moor-like central and highest parts of the Cantabrian mountains.
Using our local knowledge and the current weather and snow conditions means we can choose the best areas to go to daily.
At least 1 day we'll use the cable car to whisk us up into the central massif and on others we'll use either our van with snow tyres or our trusty landrover to reach the snowline.
Among the mountains that we include in our snowshoe itineraries are Coriscao (2,234m), Peña Prieta (2,539m) and Peña Labra (2,029m) in the central Cantabrian mountains and Pico Tesorero (2,570m), Torre Blanca (2,619m) and Torre de los Horcados Rojos (2,506m) in the central massif of the Picos de Europa.
Days will generally be @6 hours on the snow.
Each evening you'll come home to a hot shower, drinks in front of a log fire and great food.
The last day will be transfer back to Santander.
Provider Information
What's Included
- 7 nights full-board, en-suite accommodation including packed lunches and dinners with beer and wine.
- Transfers from Santander and all transport during the week
- Guiding for 6 days
What's Not Included
- Insurance
- Nights out in mountain refuges (from 50€ pp.)
- Cable car tickets
- Flights
