Almost everyone goes up the Fuente Dé cable car, looks out from the Mirador del Cable, takes the photograph and comes down in the same cabin. There is a far better alternative, and it is the walk we recommend most to anyone staying here.
Go up by cable car and walk down. Cantur publishes the route on its website under a name that pleases us particularly: Hotel Áliva – Mogrovejo. It ends in Mogrovejo, 500 metres from our front door.
Why it is worth it
- You climb 753 metres of ascent in four minutes and walk down, which is the comfortable direction.
- You cross the Puertos de Áliva, one of the most open high-mountain landscapes in the Picos, with a good chance of seeing chamois and cattle on the summer pastures.
- There is no need to go back for the car at Fuente Dé if someone in your group keeps it, or if you organise yourselves with two vehicles.
- You finish in a village, not in a car park.
The logistics, which is the part nobody tells you about
Buy a one-way ticket. It costs €17 in high season against €30 for the return. This is the most common mistake: people pay for the return and then decide to walk down.
Think about the car before you go up. If you leave the car at Fuente Dé and walk down to Mogrovejo, somebody has to go back for it. The two sensible options are two cars, or one of the group coming down by cable car and picking up the rest.
Go up early. It is a long descent and it is not one to rush, or to start late in the afternoon.
Water and sun. The Puertos de Áliva are open ground with very little shade. In July and August the sun is fierce at that altitude.
Before you go
Check the route and its condition on the official Cantur page and look at the forecast. Fog rolls into the Puertos de Áliva quickly and it is disorienting.
If you are staying with us, ask about the state of the path: it is right here and we look at it often.