Basílica de Covadonga

Covadonga and its lakes

Distance from Hotel: 82,3 km. (1 hour 15 minutes’ by car)

You should not leave Oviedo without visiting the “Santina”, the Virgin of Covadonga.

The Covadonga valley is located at the north of the National Park in the Picos de Europa Mountain Range. According to history, Muslims landed as an attempt to defeat Christians but a bunch of highlanders and Christian refugees hidden in the mountains of Asturias, led by Don Pelayo, prevented them from reaching the valley and conquering Asturias. This fight, named the Battle of Covadonga, was considered the beginning of the Reconquest.

At the head of the valley, just in the middle of a vertical rock, there is a cave where you can find a small chapel with the Virgin of Covadonga.

The Covadonga Sanctuary is on a small hill next to the chapel. It was built with a beautiful reddish stone that contrasts with the green forests and grasslands.

The Lakes belong to the Covadonga National Park. There are three lakes Enol, Ercina and Bricial, a small lake which level of water depends on the melting from the mountains.