Easy cycling routes in Asturias

Asturias is a land that can be explored in a thousand different ways: on foot, by bike, motorbike, car, horseback, etc. Depending on your time, your tastes, your physical shape or what you feel like at that moment, you have a variety of options to choose from.

Without a doubt, cycling is one of the healthiest and most fun ways to get around, and Paraíso Natural offers you all kinds of routes, some of which are easy and very pleasant to get to know, and at the same time do a bit of exercise, either alone or in a group. And in the surroundings of these routes, there are always interesting places of historical, heritage or natural value.

For all these reasons, here we suggest a few routes where you can enjoy different places without much effort!

The town of San Tirso de Abres, in the westernmost part of Asturias, is the starting point of a simple hiking route called Ruta del Ferrocarril (PR AS-300), which is ideal for the whole family, either on foot or by bike. This pleasant walk, which is a Greenway, runs along an old railway line that has been reused, where you are surrounded by nature, discovering industrial architecture, waterfalls, tunnels, salmon ladders and beautiful suspension bridges along the way.

The characteristics of the route are ideal for a walk without too much physical exertion because the route is linear and practically flat. The route from San Tirso de Abres to the border with the province of Lugo is 7 kilometres, plus another 7 kilometres back, making a total of 14 kilometres, with only 45 metres of gradient, and a duration - taking it easy - of about three and a half hours.

Thepath is a dirt track, and if you don't have a bike at the moment, there are active tourism companies in the area where you can rent one.

It is a route of high ecological value, in the surroundings of the river Eo, where you will see many trees and feel the murmur of the river. You will also pass through numerous tunnels, whose lights are usually illuminated as you pass through, but it is important to carry a torch just in case and to be aware that there are sometimes puddles inside them.

The Senda del Oso is an old mining railway line, which has become one of the most popular greenways in Spain, and deservedly so.

It runs through the municipalities of Santo Adriano, Proaza, Quirós and Teverga, and is ideal for all kinds of people, as it does not require fitness, but simply the desire to enjoy nature. So you can go alone, with friends, with the family, with children, etc.

And although it can be done on foot, the best thing to do is to get on your bike for an unforgettable ride.

The best option for a quiet itinerary is to start the route in Entrago (Teverga), and from there head downhill - which makes the excursion very pleasant - to Buyera (Santo Adriano), in the lowest part of the route, and where you have a recreational area very close to the bear enclosure, where with luck you will be able to see the bears Paca and Molina.

From Entrago to Buyera it is 18 kilometres downhill, which can be done in about two or two and a half hours. But as the path is in the shape of a Y, you can do other variants up to 28 kilometres and even more, depending on the alternative chosen.

But no matter how many or few kilometres you choose, what is guaranteed is that you will walk through beautiful landscapes with forests, gorges, tunnels, bridges and villages.

All in all, an enjoyable and easy route to immerse yourself in the central part of Asturias.

The La Camocha Greenway follows the route of the old mining railway that linked the La Camocha mine with Veriña and the Port of Musel, in Gijón. Ideal for any time of the year, it is accessible for people with reduced mobility.

It starts in Tremañes, and after running parallel to the Ferrol-Gijón railway line, it soon reaches the village of Santa Bárbara, one of the first working-class neighbourhoods of Gijón, and in the vicinity of which is the La Mortera spring, whose waters were already venerated in Roman times as a source of health and wellbeing.

Along the route you will see estates and stately homes, forests, tunnels, bridges, and stupendous views of the greenery and mountains of the rural surroundings of the council of Gijón. The route ends at the old La Camocha mine, which stands out for the beauty and height of its castle.

It is alittle over 7 kilometres, with little difference in altitude, and can be covered in about two hours. You can return along the same route, covering another 7 kilometres, or link up with the Piles river path, where you can also enjoy the beautiful scenery.

The Tranqueru Greenway, in the council of Carreño, located between Perlora and Xivares, and with a length of just over one kilometre, has its origins in a modest mining railway, whose most spectacular section from a scenic and natural point of view was between the Perlora and Xivares halts.

This conditioned dirt track, which starts near the beach of Carranques, in Perlora, winds its way through the rocks of the cliffs and at some points practically flies over the Cantabrian Sea.

This short but delightful route will give you the opportunity to access the Tranqueru beach (which can only be reached by this Vía Verde), and at the other end of the Vía, the Xivares beach is another place of natural interest.

Accessible for people with reduced mobility, you can start the journey at either Perlora or Xivares and return by train to the starting point.

This old railway track will transport you from urban to rural in a sweet transition. It is almost 9 kilometres where the landscape changes constantly and immerses you in the tranquillity of lush greenery and the sound of the river.

The Fuso Greenway starts at the Winter Park in Oviedo/Uviéu, and is practically flat and well paved, so it can be done on foot, by bike or on skates. In addition, it has the advantage that at different points there are picnic areas where you can take a break or have something to eat.

After crossing bridges, forests, old mills and several tunnels - some of them quite long - as well as spotting birds and other indigenous species and seeing peaks and mountains in the distance, you will reach your destination in Fuso de la Reina, where you can contemplate the waters of the longest and most abundant river in Asturias, the Nalón, and the thermal waters of Les Caldes, with its renovated spa and baths, are very close by.

In total, approximately 18 kilometres there and back, and a beautiful walk where you can stop whenever you feel like it.

The coastal path that crosses the council of Llanes, and which coincides in some sections with the Camino del Norte or Camino de la Costa, is a magnificent itinerary to enjoy by bicycle.

We propose an accessible route of approximately 9 kilometres, between the beach of Poo and the Niembru estuary. The route crosses wonderful coastal landscapes, cliffs and beaches, always with the backdrop of the Sierra del Cuera and the Picos de Europa.

A unique setting in which you will pass near beaches such as San Martín, Celoriu, Borizu, Troenzo, Sorraos and Barro, to end your excursion in the port of El Vao, in Niembru, with its beautiful estuary, always full of bathers and many people practising different water sports, especially paddle surfing. The church of Santa María de los Dolores, right on the estuary, completes a truly beautiful setting, which has inspired artists and filmmakers.

And when you feel like it, you can return to Po by bike, or you can also take the train from Celoriu to return to Llanes.