It’s known as the Costa Verde, the green and rugged province wedged between Galicia and Cantabria on the north coast of Spain. It’s also been hailed as one of Europe’s leading eco-regions, thanks to its impressive sustainability focus. With Unesco-listed nature reserves, including Spain’s first national park, as well as empty beaches, eco-lodges and lakes, Asturias might be one of the country’s best-kept secrets.
Into the wild
If you associate Spain with the sun-baked beaches of the south, then the lush meadows and alpine peaks of Asturias might come as a bit of a shock to first-time visitors. Around a third of this area is protected space, and the community has no fewer than seven Unesco-listed biosphere reserves, including the Picos de Europa, Spain’s first national park. Here brown bear, deer and Iberian wolves still roam free in the well-preserved oak and beech forests. If you’re into walking, the Somiedo nature park has a Roman-built trail that was once the main thoroughfare for merchants carrying grain and wool, which is now a spectacular hiking trail. While in the rolling countryside close to the hamlet of Villayón, nearby rivers converge and tumble to form the spectacular Oneta waterfalls.
Paint the town green
In Asturias, many towns continue to live very much on the land, using the old ways of production. Textiles are woven with looms, madreñas (clogs) are produced by hand and you’ll often see cows and small Asturian horses grazing in meadows. Join in with a felt workshop or a soap-making class in the village of Villanueva de Oscos, go foraging for mushrooms in any number of the region’s vast woodlands or discover “transhumance”, a traditional way of grazing animals with continuous movement from the coast to the mountains practised by the Vaqueiros, an autonomous nomadic people of Asturias. Don’t miss Taramundi in the Biosfera Oscos Reserve, a village which has conserved the most traditional ways of life. The Mills Museum showcases how people lived in this region 300 years ago, and still do today to some extent. But if you want to get some big city action, the pedestrianised capital of Oviedo (or Uviéu in Asturian) routinely wins awards for Europe’s cleanest city. Stroll through the immaculate squares and check out the Campo de San Francisco, a picturesque park downtown.
Ethical eating
Asturians take their food seriously – and sustainability seriously informs the region’s storied cuisine and food culture. Try lunch at Naguar, which recently moved from Oviedo to Ribadesella, where an emphasis on locally sourced ingredients, grown traditionally and organically, sees a seasonal, daily-changing menu with specialities such as an award-winning chickpea coulant, cod croquettes and foraged vegetables. An estimated 40 different cheeses are produced by small-herd dairy farmers in Asturias, three of which have Denominación de Origen Protegida status. In the foothills of the Picos de Europa you can go on a tour of caves where cheeses are aged, in what’s known as the ruta del queso cabrales or “cheese route”. Finally, for a truly special dinner, take on all 12 degustación courses at the Michelin-starred Casa Marcial in Parres, where chef Nacho Manzano cooks and lives in the village house where he was born and grew up in, working with local ingredients, sustainably grown.
Making waves
In keeping with its eco-focused ethos, Asturias has some of the most pristine beaches in Europe. If you think silence is golden sand, then you can’t do better than the peace and quiet at Playa del Silencio. There are no lifeguards, toilets, or cafes here, but what it lacks in amenities it more than makes up for in dramatic rock formations, total seclusion and unspoilt beauty. No wonder it’s thought to be a top spot for naturists. Leading to Playa de Barayo, a perfectly preserved valley that has been protected from all possible development, and is inhabited only by otters. If you have kids in tow, the hilariously named Playa de Poo is a spotless, tranquil cove. Meanwhile the Playa de Guadamia has cliffs with blowholes, meaning when the winter storms come, nature puts on a spectacular geyser show.
Sleeping sustainably
Accommodation options in Asturias range from palatial five-star hotels to no-frills home stays. If you’re village-hopping, the casas rurales are charming traditional lodgings offering self-catering stays in the fairytale red-roofed mountain villages. There are also plenty of boutique eco-lodges. 3 Cabos is an environmentally friendly conversion of a century-old farmhouse – boilers run on biomass fuel and there’s a water reuse set up. If you can’t get enough of the dairy stuff, Hotel Reciegos is run by Marigel Álvarez, who makes traditional casin cheese in her adjoining microdairy.
There are also many agritourism options, like the ones regarded with a seal of excellence such as Casonas Asturianas or Aldeas-Asturias Calidad Rural, but arguably one the most spectacular places to stay in Asturias is Puebloastur, an upscale eco-resort with renovated Asturian farmhouses. It’s a paperless hotel (everything from check-in to ordering breakfast is done via tablet), and all items are locally sourced, including the Spanish gin in your minibar. Salud!
Find out more about planning your Asturian eco-escape at Asturias Turismo
