This place combines what you'd expect from a good route: a well-marked trail, memorable landscapes, and a panoramic view to top off the effort. The difference is that, in Ordiales, all of this is multiplied and takes on another dimension. This route is A classic of Asturian hiking and mountaineering, and the viewpoint itself, one of the panoramic altars of the National Park. No photograph does justice to the views from here., because no image can convey the sensation of being there: the emptiness at your feet, the pure air in your lungs and that boundless expanse of the horizon.
On this balcony suspended in the vertigo of the western massif of Los Picos, where chamois walk along the cliffs and the clouds often remain beneath the hiker's feet, lie the remains of Pedro Pidal, Marquis of Villaviciosa, the first promoter of the National Park and a pioneer in the defense of the Asturian mountains. Perhaps out of respect for his legacy, it's worth remembering that this route is not a game. If we choose the wrong day, fog or rain will reduce visibility and make the final stretch dangerous. And although it is a very busy route, we must not forget that the mountain demands respect and does not admit levity. It is essential to check the weather forecast, wear mountain clothing and footwear, and be in good physical shape..
To the Ordiales Viewpoint from Lagos
The route starts from the area of buferrera, next to the Pedro Pidal Visitor Center, near Lake Enol. However, many hikers prefer to start at Pandecarmen, a small parking lot a couple of kilometers further up, at the end of a dirt track closed to traffic during peak season. The path is signposted as PR-PNPE-5 takes us first to the Vega de Huerto, which will take us approximately an hour to reach, traveling along a slight incline. It is a comfortable first stage, which runs through beautiful mountain meadows, with open views of the Lakes, on the way to the first limestone walls. We arrive at the plain, where a fresh spring flows and the German's Well, a small pool of about three or four meters in diameter that owes its name to Roberto Frassinelli (1811-1887), better known as "the German of Corao." Frassinelli was a very unusual figure: born in Germany, he eventually settled in Asturias, where he distinguished himself as a self-taught scholar, amateur archaeologist, and a great lover of the mountains; one of the first to fall in love with the Picos de Europa. On his excursions, he often bathed there, hence his nickname.
From Vega de Huerto the path gently gains height and heads towards the Vega la Piedra. After here, the landscape becomes more rocky and we ascend little by little; in less than an hour we reach the Vegarredonda Refuge, located at an altitude of 1.420 meters. This is one of the key points on this route and many others that delve into the Cornión. Opened in 1949 and renovated several times since then, it has beds, a dining room, and a guard service, making it a safe place to spend the night or simply recharge. It is, in a way, the natural gateway to the higher reaches of the Picos de Europa, and a place where hikers heading to the Mirador de Ordiales meet mountaineers seeking high and challenging peaks, such as Peña Santa (2596 m).
The Vegarredonda mountain pasture serves as a threshold to a terrain that is now more mountainous, increasingly karstic and with ever wider panoramas. We will quickly gain altitude, winding our way up to the Torga Fields, a visual respite from the climb: an open space with high-altitude meadows where animals still graze, heralding the approach of the final stretch of the route. From here, the trail continues to climb, and in the final stretch, it skirts the vertical cliffs to an exceptional scenic peak: the Ordiales Viewpoint.
The Ordiales Viewpoint
The Ordiales balcony impresses even before reaching it: the panoramic view is felt in the air, and as you approach, that tingling sensation that anticipates something great grows. It only takes a few more steps for the mountain to suddenly cease and the landscape to unfold overwhelmingly. We find ourselves in a natural ledge, a dry cut in the mountain that collapses hundreds of meters into the voidThe sensation is that of being at the end of the world, with the fresh air on your face and a horizon that opens without limits; where it is not unusual to see a Golden Eagle, absolute owner of these heights.
The view opens out in a fan. In the foreground, the verticality of the Angón Valley, deep and green, which seems to disappear into the distance Amieva and the ridge of Put, also in the foreground are Tiatordos and the Redes Natural Park. And if the weather permits, the reward is even greater: the distant line of the Cantabrian Sea appears on the horizon, as if the mountains and the sea were joining hands.
This place is also a memory. Here he wanted to rest forever. Pedro Pidal, Marquis of Villaviciosa, the same one who achieved the creation of the Covadonga Mountain National Park, the seed of what is now the Picos de Europa National Park. A nobleman by birth but a mountaineer by conviction, he combined his passion for hunting and mountaineering with the vision that this landscape should be preserved. His choice of Ordiales as his tomb is no coincidence: it encapsulates better than any other spot what the Picos de Europa represent, between the harshness of the rock and the grandeur of the landscape.
Technical characteristics of the route
This is an undisputed hiking classic in Asturias: a technically accessible route that goes far beyond a simple stroll.
Official name PR-PNPE-5: Route to the Ordiales Viewpoint
Total distance: 21 kilometers round trip from Buferrera.
Accumulated drop: approximately 1.000 positive meters.
Maximum altitude: 1.750 m
Medium Difficulty. Requires good footwear and basic fitness. Exposed sections.
Estimated duration: 7 to 8 hours round trip.
Tour type: Linear (return by the same route).
Signaling: Good (white and yellow PR beacons).
Text: © Ramón Molleda for asturias.com
