Parador Cangas de Onís

“We should share the beauty”. This statement by the Chairman of Parador de Cangas de Onís, Ignacio Bosch, as he looks at the lively landscape that can be appreciated on a clear day from the Monastery of San Pedro Villanueva, where it is located, with the blueish river Sella at the bottom and the spectacular Picos de Europa on the horizon, largely encircles the mission and vision of the Paradores de Turismo. In short, “It is a paradise, as we like to say here”.

The Asturian venue is one of the jewels of the public hotel network. A powerful champion for the duality of its placement in a prime location of exceptional beauty and in a building “with an exciting history linked to the Kingdom of Asturias in the eighth century.” The hotel, opened in 1998, was set up in the Benedictine convent founded in 746.

The monastery is not very large “because it never had more than 8 or 9 monks.” It is a beautiful property, with spectacular and elegant rooms of stone and wood with a total vacancy of 128 spots. Designated a national monument in 1907, nothing remains of its first era. In the twelfth century it was reshaped in a Romanesque style, with some of its parts still preserved in the Church, such as a beautiful spire that recounts the farewell of King Favila to his wife and the attack of the bear that killed him. A big transformation took place during the XVII century, as testified by baroque elements such as the cloister or the bell tower.

Parador is located in a privileged natural site and provides an exceptional alternative to establish the “base camp” to get to know the surroundings. Cangas de Onís is the main entrance to Picos de Europa National Park and its rugged peaks and is an ideal starting point to visit the Sanctuary and the lakes of Covadonga.

Whether you choose hiking or cycling, it brings out two recommendations of nearby Jacobean routes: Camino de Santiago Ruta del Norte and another that is becoming trendy, crossing from Santo Toribio de Liebana through Picos de Europa up until Covadonga and from there to Cangas de Onís until it links with Oviedo through the  “Camino Primitivo”.  “It is beautiful and unknown. In Asturias we like call everyone’s attention as it was the first one ever built. Alfonso II, the King who was a grandson of the monastery fonder, came from Oviedo to discover the remains of the Apostle”, he argues.

Furthermore, Bosch highlights that Parador gastronomic offer, in addition to the winks of  the monastic kitchen, bears an Asturian seal: quality of local produce and full sized portions. Yet another of the great tourist potentials of the Principality.

The establishment is one of the bearers of “Food of Paradise”, a seal that embraces Asturian products with “DO” and “PGI”, and offers in its menu its rich and wide range.