The best forests to get lost in Asturias

Have you ever wondered what a forest is for? In Asturias you will have the most complete answer you can imagine. The Asturian nature is eminently wooded, green, leafy, almost without limit in some areas. Asturias represents the essence of the Atlantic forest par excellence and is the great paradise of oak, beech, chestnut, birch and other tree species that make this land a paradigm of wild and humanised nature at the same time.

Asturian forests can be used for almost anything: to get lost and forget about the mundane noise, to get closer to mother earth, to meditate, to forge friendships and share moments, to get fit walking or running, to take care of your lungs because they are a real natural lung where you will notice that you breathe better and that the air is of exceptional purity, to enjoy with all five senses, to show your children and grandchildren the benefits of nature and teach them to take care of it... In short, the Asturian forests are a source of healthy life, sustainable leisure and hope for the future of planet Earth.

Here we propose a very green itinerary through six forests of Asturias with a route included in each of them, so that you can experience in situ the excellences of the Asturian forest and its many benefits.

When your eyes catch a glimpse of the Mual forest, it will seem as if you are at the gates of heaven itself, and that the sky is painted green and completely full of trees... In reality you will discover that your sky at that moment is right next to the mythical Munieḷḷos Forest, a Biosphere Reserve by the name of Munieḷḷos.

The forest of Moal is ideal for walking, and for getting to know the impressive forests of the south-west of Asturias. In addition, the Bosque de Moal route has the advantage of starting from the charming and friendly village of Moal. Once you enter the forest universe, you will find corripas - circular constructions to store the chestnut hedgehogs - and also cortinos - circular constructions to protect the beehives from the gourmand impulses of the brown bear.

You will realise that you are on an Atlantic planet, the ancestral refuge of the brown bear, and where man has also left his intelligent mark. A forest and a humanised route where you will walk along the banks of the Munieḷḷos River, among beech, chestnut and oak trees. When you reach the Montecín viewpoint, your gaze will have the greatest gift you ever imagined: Mual, the Connio pass and the Munieḷḷos forest - the largest oak forest in Europe - in a panoramic sweep... Simply incredible!

Can you imagine getting lost in the immeasurable beauty of Puerto Ventana? It is highly recommended, especially if you are a lover of nature and its many contrasts and surprises. In the Tevergan lands, between the mountains and the mountains, and in the surroundings of this pass that connects Asturias with the Meseta, you will discover the Montegrande beech forest, an impressive group of beech and oak trees, relatively easy to walk.

Very soon, at the beginning of the Montegrande beech forest and Xiblu waterfall route you will see a fountain, which will make you feel that you are in a land where the vegetation is so powerful due to the constant presence of streams and rivers.

Undoubtedly the great attraction of this walk, apart from the experience of walking through the beech forest, where you will find incredible trees, is to reach the Xiblu waterfall, impressive because its three waterfalls total 100 metres in height, and at times of the year when there is a thaw, the waterfall is a unique and surprising natural spectacle.

After resting and refreshing yourself in the surroundings of the waterfall, you will return to the same place, with the perfect notion that you have been in a different place...

Hayedo and waterfall are two great attractions of a route that will make you want to come back to Las Ubiñas-La Mesa Natural Park, which is also a Biosphere Reserve!

The Redes Nature Reserve hides many treasures waiting for you and one of them is its beech forests. To enjoy the forests of this Biosphere Reserve you can follow the Orllé beech forests route.

This is a beautiful route that runs through the valley of the Orlé River, where beech forests and shepherds' huts predominate, inviting you on a journey into the past of these mountains. Once en route you will be able to enjoy the views of mythical peaks such as Cantu l'Osu or the famous Tiatordos, in a setting of traditional paths that were once communication routes.

You will start your walk in the beautiful village of Pendones, and after a route where you pass through hills, meadows and sheepfolds, and go around some crags, you will finish your walk in Orllé, where you can taste the famous Casín cheese, as a well-deserved gastronomic reward for so much effort.

The beech forests of Redes will fill your retina with colour, your pituitary will enjoy the smells of the forest and your palate will be grateful for the traditional pastoral flavours... A truly enchanting experience!

The Vallinona beech forest or Bosque de Lindes is not only one of the largest in Asturias, but also one of the most beautiful. Located in the heart of one of the 7 Biosphere Reserves of Asturias, the Ubiñas-La Mesa Natural Park, this green lung is the setting for an interesting circular route.

In fact, it is a pleasant walk where you will be completely seduced by the spectacular nature of the forest and its foci, and the magic and tranquillity of the beech forest will be a completely unforgettable experience.

The route starts in the village of Lindes, continues through the Foz Grande, to reach the forest of Lindes, and ends in the village of Lindes again. Just over 7 kilometres, which, if you take it easy, can take about four hours.

An excellent opportunity to enjoy this plant treasure in Las Ubiñas-La Mesa Natural Park!

Somiedo was the first Natural Park in Asturias, declared almost two decades ago. Shortly afterwards, in the year 2000, it was awarded the distinction of Biosphere Reserve, and this privileged territory in the southernmost part of Asturias, considered one of the natural wonders of Spain, has no shortage of merits.

Somiedo is one of the sanctuaries of the brown bear, and will offer you unique landscapes, ideal for hiking and total relaxation. All year round is the perfect time to visit Somiedo and enjoy its routes and forests, but in autumn these take on special tones and shapes.

Somiedo has several valleys: The valley of Saliencia, the valley of Perlunes, the valley of the river Somiedo, the valley of the river Pigüeña or the valley of the Lake, and in all of them there is abundant forest, being the beech tree one of the most abundant plant species and one of the most important in autumn.

One of the most interesting routes is the route of the Saliencia lakes, a spectacle in autumn, both for the grandeur of its beech forest and for the geological formations of the mountain.

You will discover that the beech forests of Somiedo are a paradise for hiking!

Another of the Biosphere Reserves in Asturias that holds pleasant surprises in store for you is Oscos-Eo. Among the various wooded routes you can enjoy in this area of western Asturias, one of the most popular and beautiful is the Ruta del Agua, in Taramundi.

In a comfortable circular route of just over 13 kilometres, you will get closer to a world in which the use of water was essential for human survival. You will walk through lush forests of chestnut and oak trees, you will come across beautiful waterfalls such as La Salgueira, and you will discover villages such as Os Teixois, Os Esquíos, O Mazonovo or the magical As Veigas, like something out of a fairy tale, whose author had a great ethnographic imagination.

In Os Teixois you will find, in a hidden place that appears to you as if hanging from the side of a mountain, a set of mallet, mill, fulling mill, grinding wheel and small power station; in Esquíos you will discover what rural homes in the west of Asturias were like several centuries ago until well into the 20th century; in Mazonovo you will see several mills working at the same time in a dreamlike setting, and in As Veigas, a stone village surrounded by forest, you will think that time has stopped two centuries ago?

In thirteen kilometres you will feel like you have travelled through centuries of human history!