Cabrales Cheese tour in the Picos de Europa Mountains

Description

Cabrales cheese is the best known of the forty types of this artisanal product produced in Asturias. Its creamy texture, greenish colour and slightly sharp flavour depend on the type of milk used, the handling and production process at the cheese factory and the time spent maturing in a natural cave, among other factors. The production of this cheese has been possible thanks to the availability of nutritious pastures in the neighbouring mountains and the tireless and invaluable work of shepherds and cheesemakers, who work every day to keep an age-old tradition alive. This route takes us first to Cangas de Onís and then on to the Estazadas gorge, the ancient habitat of Palaeolithic man, where we find the imposing limestone mountains of the Picos de Europa. Nature, art and landscape have coexisted here for centuries. The excursion continues in search of the river Cares, and the meeting point of the three massifs of the Picos de Europa, where they begin to rise as if they were ascending towards the clouds. We will arrive at Sotres, a mountain village, home to shepherds and their livestock since time immemorial, and the starting point of the most popular trekking routes in the whole region. Here we will visit a traditional cheese factory and a natural maturing cave with the cheese-making hosts, who will tell us the details of the production process. Finally, we will taste the famous cheese in its different ripening variants.