Following the course of the Covadonga spring , which disappears into chasms under Mount Auseva, forces us to make a small detour to find the exact point where the water mysteriously enters the mountain.
The Vega de Orandi is one of those magical places in the Asturian landscape . Its evocative name ultimately refers to a nearby Arcadia. The very name Orandi resonates, almost divine, among the crags of the Picos de Europa, traversed by the Deva River, which etymologically represents the personification of water in the celestial deity of the same name. Water that heals, vivifies, animates, purifies, cleanses, and makes things grow. And beside the Deva River rises Mount Auseva, perhaps of pre-Roman origin: "mountain above the divine water."
The hike is a leisurely stroll through the landscape near Covadonga , with no significant elevation changes and covering no more than four kilometers. To reach the starting point, continue from the sanctuary along the road that leads to Los Lagos. At kilometer 3, you'll come to a wide curve; to the right of this curve, a well-maintained track about two meters wide begins. This will be our starting point, called Moferos. The route is marked PR-AS 224.
At first, the path is cobbled and ascends, winding through natural hedges of hazel, hawthorn, and mixed woodland. A few meters before reaching the Bastañar mountain pasture, we'll find a gate that we must pass through. Between Bastañar and Les Llaceries, a second mountain pasture, the path continues in good condition, about 2 meters wide and almost entirely cobbled. Here, the forest becomes filled with holly, ash, and cherry trees. Isolated beech trees and a great deal of scrubland also appear.
Once we reach La Campera Les Llaceries, we cross the small meadow heading west, leaving a spring on the right and the Collado Argonal path on the left. The surface becomes a narrow, rocky trail with a gentle incline leading to the Collado Jou los Cestos pass. From the pass, the path winds through a beech forest, turning south. We reach “La Cueñe” Les Porciles, from where we can see the Retortoriu forest, a beech grove of great importance, and begin descending south towards a natural meadow known as the pandal. From here, we descend west towards the Les Mestes-Orandi river, arriving at the Vega meadow , which has a group of livestock huts, stables, and hay meadows.
This vega is a dream place of intoxicating silence that we have achieved without much effort. If we continue walking another little north (right) following the stream, we will reach the cave in which the water disappears to sprout in Covadonga, from where we have left and where we will return, by the same path, once we have satiated ourselves ancestral tranquility of this place.
Text: © Ramón Molleda for asturias.com
