Great Cantabrian Trekking (Occidental Section).

Over a distance of 115 km and seven days, we will cross the Cantabrian Mountains from its western end in the Laciana Valley to the Central Mountain of Leonesa in the Alto Bernesga.
 
We start from Villablino, capital of Laciana Valley, Biosphere Reserve and Natura 2000 Network Area. Nestled in the northwest of the province of León, the Laciana Valley is an area of vital importance for the conservation of the Brown Bear and the Capercaillie, while retaining its traditional model of management of pastures and livestock.

After crossing La Laciana, we will enter the Somiedo Natural Park, another Biosphere Reserve of great importance for the Brown Bear. After crossing the Somiedo Reserve, we will arrive in Tierra de Babia, another Biosphere Reserve whose name sounds to everyone by the expression "being in Babia", which is something like being disconnected, absent or distracted.

Its spectacular alpine landscapes are dominated by the imposing calcareous mass of Peña Ubiña, emblematic summit of the Cantabrian Mountains. After being in Babia, we will reach the Alto Bernesga, one of the most interesting Cantabrian regions from all points of view: Botanical, fauna, geological, paleontological, geomorphological... Impressive mountains with their "brañas" and pastures, millenary beech forests, endemic forests and an enviable paleontological heritage are just some of the elements that justified their declaration as a Biosphere Reserve.

And we will finish the adventure in La Pola de Gordón, capital of a mining region whose coal fed the Basque steel industry for decades. Although its landscape has paid a high price for the impact of mines, roads, railways, power lines and gas pipelines, Gordón still retains an important natural heritage.

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