Walking the Picos de Europa

We were on the Exodus trip that left on May 24, 2025. The hiking, hotel, meals, hospitality and guide were all excellent. We could not ask for more. We would highly recommend this trip and the other 4 Exodus trips we have taken to our friends. The hotel room was spotless and the staff so very accommodating. The breakfast had everything you could ask for. The packed lunches had 3 options for sandwiches plus all the chocolate, fruit and nuts you wanted. The 4 course dinners were amazing, with 3 options prepared by the in house chef.

Another superb Exodus adventure. An excellent and varied walk program. The Hotel Torrecerredo was of a very high standard with delicious meals provided each day. The owners Jim & Pilar were brilliant hosts too. Special mention also to Adolfo-brilliant character! We had a small group of 8 and we all got on really well right from the start.

A fantastic week of company, food and scenery. A group of 15 who all connected well from UK, USA Australia and Iceland. The hotel - great location and the food wow. Everyday I was excited about dinner and this never happens. The food made the week stand out in my mind. Loved it, we all did. Thank you to the wo derful hotel. Hiking - challenging in the heat,varied and boy we all felt we had a good workout. We loved the varied terrains, coffee stops and our guide, Thomas was very good.

This trip has it all- mountain views, amazing food and wonderful service.

great family run hotel, with lovely staff. good local guide

The hotel is in an excellent location, just on the edge of a small town, either looking at meadows at the back, or some fantastic mountain views in the front. Get back from a walk and sit in that front garden with views like that with a cold beer and your fellow walkers (who were such a fun bunch on this trip!), doesn't get much better than that! Comfy rooms too. Charming staff, everyone was always very approachable and personable and nothing was ever too much trouble -not just for the owners, everyone, really. Great food, with sometimes variable portion sizes, but always very very well cooked. The walking was varied, some days rockier terrain, some days quite muddy, some days a mix of everything - no complaints in that regard. I think appropriately graded as well. Day 1 really did feel just like a warm-up walk, the most featureless of them all, both in terms of terrain and scenery. Not a bad walk by any means, but nowhere near as good as the other four days. Whenever there was an optional ascent/scramble on any of the walks, the bail-out point was always well chosen. The biggest surprise of the whole trip was how quiet and serene it all was! Hardly ever seen anyone else apart from our own group (minus the Cares Gorge, that is definitely a very popular walk), just made all the walks incredibly peaceful. Of course that might depend on the time of year, but we were very lucky with that in the first half of July.

The Torrecerredo is a great home-from-home, and the owners Jim and Pilar do everything to make your stay comfortable and convenient. The hotel staff are lovely. Sometimes it was easy to forget you were in Spain, it was so lush and wet that the landscape was more reminiscent of Cornwall and Switzerland , especially with all those cows with bells around their necks! Unfortunately the weather was very unpredictable and for two days the mountain mists descended and we could have been, well, anywhere. The first walk was not especially interesting, the second was muddy but wonderful, and the sun shone. I alone found the Cares Gorge a bit of a bore, a three hour unvarying trudge along a fairly busy path, then after a quick lunch you come back the way you came, so you get to see the same things twice. Our fellow-travellers were a great bunch, which made the trip even more enjoyable.

The family run hotel was perfectly located, clean, welcoming and personal service from the wonderful staff. The food was great, so much on offer too. Couldn’t be faulted. Leave your book behind as the days are exhilaratingly long! The hiking was very varied, I went in July ‘24 and the flowers in the meadows and along all routes were stunning. Tomas was our wonderful local guide, we were with him during his first year. This made no odds as he knew the location so well. Every view looked down on a village of one relative or another! Try the local blue cheese , it’s delicious and the hotel stocks the award winning product produced by Tomás’ mum.

We had a great week of walking in what felt like a very unspoilt part of Spain. We enjoyed the variety of walks (although one foggy day so can’t comment on that one too much) The weather last week of May was perfect for walking. The hotel is great, all food is very tasty and plentiful. We also thoroughly enjoyed the company of our fellow walkers.

Amazing tour! Such a stunning part of Spain! The views from the hikes were incredible but the hiking was very challenging! I thought I was in good shape until we started these hikes and quite a bit of it was steep terrain, which was difficult. I trained prior to the tour but definitely not 3-4 hours uphill at one time. Some of us stayed back at the hotel a couple of days since it was difficult, which also worked out well to relax a little. Just be prepared and know it's quite challenging. Weather at the end of April/early May was perfect for hiking. Nice cool weather in the morning and rain late in the afternoon. Having snow on the mountains also made it even more beautiful. I loved the hotel and the views from the hotel. We had a great tour guide and wonderful group of people from several countries. It was a very well organized tour.

Walking here was beautiful. The food for breakfast and the 4 course dinners were delicious and memorable. The hotel staff were kind, friendly and always with a smile. They were always willing to help.

Great walking in stunning scenery in good weather with a very nice group ; what more fun could there be.

I went with limited expectations, and had only seen a few Google photos and some YouTube videos. I knew it would rugged and mountainous, and quite probably wet. The forecast was 7 days rain, and we had a wet welcome. However, Uriel, the local sun god, smiled on us and we had a mostly dry week with some pretty wet moments. The walking is spectacular. There is predictably a lot of going up and coming down, and a fair bit requires poles and some attention as toy where you place them. It is green, and rugged rock. We were tested in terms of what we could do but I was lucky and we had a group of 7 who were pretty similar in our capabilities. Louis the guide is local, knowledgeable, professional and friendly, an absolute star. The hotel was basic but provided all our needs, lots of hot water, a drying room and excellent food. The views from your door are amazing.

A very enjoyable trip. The Hotel Torrecerrado is a pleasant hotel just a few minutes walk from Arenas De Cabrales. The rooms were basic but comfortable, there is a well stocked bar with a terrace that offers incredible views of the mountains. The staff are friendly and helpful. The evening meals were of exceptional quality, I really wasn't expecting food to be so good. Lewis our guide was super friendly and took us on some very enjoyable walks. The Picos area is huge, we only scratched the surface of what's on offer. Honestly, I had never even heard of the Picos de Europa before seeing it on the Exodus website, it's an absolute gem that offers huge potential.

One of the best Exodus holidays I have been on! The hotel was excellent, with the best view ever, very friendly and helpful owners and staff, and the food was the best I've ever had on any of your trips! Our guide Luis was an exceptional young man, with the most amazing knowledge of the area, historically, geographically and flora and fauna-wise! He is a gem and Exodus should keep him as a treasure in their chest! The scenery in the Picos way surpassed my expectations, and the Cares Gorge walk, although 7.5miles each way is one of the wonders of the World and well worth it!

Better than walking in the Dolomites. Great variety and three climates in one mid-May week including snow. Hotel Torrecerredo is an ideal walkers hotel, clean, easy going, relaxed and good varied menu.

Lovely week walking in the Picos with our great guide Luis.Very friendly family run hotel.Great food.

A great trip - fantastic scenery and a great little village with an even better hotel. Wonderful guide and ten fantastic walking partners made this trip quite memorable. Several days of rain tampered the mood but that's what walking is all about.

Based in Arenas de Cabrales, known as the gateway to the Picos de Europa, a group of 15 explored the region which offered a varied terrain through forests, shepherds paths, green valleys, a gorge, river paths as well as being among limestone peaks. There was beautiful wild flowers such as orchids and blue thistle as well as wildlife where we spotted griffon vultures, chamois, brightly coloured butterflies as well as cows with their bells clanging around their necks. The Hotel Torrecerredo was our base for all our days walking. It's a small family run hotel with staff that went above and beyond to make our stay a welcoming and memorable one. The restaurant served delicious traditional 4-course meals and the bar stocked all our post walk requirements at very affordable prices. Five minutes from the hotel is the village Arena de Cabrales. This is a picturesque village which offers many bars and restaurants offering tasty meals and a few souvenir and outdoor shops as well as local produce shops selling their famous Cabrales cheese.

So pleased I was able to join this trip last minute as it exceeded my expectations. A stunningly beautiful traditional mountainous part of Spain. Great hotel staff and location. Food outstanding. Our walking group was good company and fun to be with.

A trip planned for 2020 finally came about. The location, trail routes, accommodation, group leader (Silvia), hotel staff (Jim and Pilar) and other hotel support staff were just amazing. I did not think I could manage my usual level 3 hikes post Covid (caught this a couple of months before) and managed to participate 3 out of 5 hiking days. My favourite trek was Cares Gorge - views were stunning, do not forget to look back (shodows cast by the mountains along the gorge by the morning sun). During our free day I went to Llanes, a lovely seaside village/town, and a nearby beach with a few members of the group. We had a great day out.

Absolutely wonderful trek with stunning scenery each day. The whole trek was very well organised. The accommodation was good and the staff were really amazing, always ready to help with a smile on their face. The food that Jim, Pilar and the team served was delicious! Had not expected to be served 4 course dinner everyday ! Saw plenty of vultures, mountain goats,horses and of course the cows with cowbells! Would definitely recommend the trip.

Spent a glorious week walking the unspoilt, peaceful and beautiful Picos. The weather was perfect for walking with only 1 day of light drizzle, breaking the otherwise dry and sunny week. We did a mixture of walks ranging from summiting twice at just over 2000 metres above the tree line through to a coastal walk to Llanes. Alfonso our guide was a true man of the mountains, born in the Region and with a real love and passion for the Picos as well as having a really calm and peaceful persona. The hospitality and home cooking at the hotel was excellent throughout the week and each day you can admire the glorious views of the Picos over breakfast and dinner, cloud cover permitting. I felt throughout the week that I was off the beaten track as the area is so large and un-touristy that on most days you don’t come across many other walkers, with the exception of the Cares gorge which was busier, but not in an unpleasant way. I loved the whole week.

Our Third trip with Exodus and certainly our best. Magnificent scenery and some great walking. Combined with a hotel with a beautiful setting and Michelin star quality food.

We all think that Spain is an arid country with every town heaving with tourists, music blaring from every club, drunks roaming the street !! Well think again. The Picos de Europa is the northern mountain range in Spain, with lush flora; fantastic gorge and mountain views; small villages and hamlet, and a so very different part of Spain. We spent the last week of June on this trip and enjoyed every minute. The hotel may only be 1 star, but is comfortable, has fantastic buffet breakfasts (cereal, fruits, drinks, meats, cheese, bread, etc), ample packed lunches (with choices of baguette filling, chocolate and muesli bars), and sublime 4 course evening meals (with 3 choices of main course). The tour leader Nacho (Ignachio) was extremely proficient and friendly, ready with useful information and, very much, part of the group. The variety of landscape, local flora, long gorges, wonderful mountain peaks lead to some great experiences and unbelievably beautiful views. One of our best Exodus trips so far, and so close to the UK