Costa Verde, Cudillero Spain
September 27, 2023 - by Muriel Dassen
The Costa Verde is the coast of the Asturias region. The Spanish Costa Verde, because it turns out that there is also a Costa Verde in the very North West of Portugal. The Costa Verde means "Green Coast" and if you get here you will soon see why this coast is so called. And although we bikers do not want to hear this and the green is beautiful, this is because of the high rainfall. But it does make the Costa Verde one of the most beautiful mountain regions of Spain, so we definitely wanted to try it out in a Quazy Rides tour. And we were very impressed!
Of course you can download the GPX / ITN files and full e-books of the 2 rides we have in this tour via our roadtrip planner but you can already find the info in this blogpost.
The picturesque fishing village of Cudillero is our central point for this Costa Verde tour. The harbour is the centre, which runs into the pleasant Plaza Marina with terraces and excellent fish restaurants. All squeezed into this narrow bay with behind it white houses scattered over the mountains. The village is built like a theatre surrounding its harbour. Very photogenic!
The northern route of the Camino, the Pilgrim's Way to Santiago, passes by Cudillero: the Camino del Norte, running mainly along the coast. So if you were ever thinking of walking a part of the Camino, this is your chance. Or you can try to find the Tunnel de Cudillero and make your way back from the harbour to the centre along the current that goes through the tunnel to the sea. Do be careful after a lot of rain though.
Or just settle at the central square of Cudillero - day or night - where you will find numerous restaurants and bars with nice terraces.
But it is definitely worth to take a little stroll through the small alleys surrounding the central square as you will get nice views on the town.
And don't forget to taste the Asturian cider, Sidra as it is called here, at one of the Siderias, such as this Sidéria El Remo. They do some
impressive pouring of Sidra here to add oxygen and really enhance the flavour!
Recommended hotels:
Rating on Booking.com: Fabulous 8.8
With free private on site - not covered - parking
With restaurant
10 to 15 minuted walk in to city centre Cudillero
Rating on Booking.com: Exceptional 9.5
With free private on site – not covered - parking
With bar
15 to 20 minute walk in to centre Cudillero
Rating on Booking.com: Superb 9.2
With free on site private - not covered - parking
40 minute walk to city centre Cudillero
5 minute walk to closest restaurant
20 minute walk down to Aguillar Beach with restaurants
- La Casona de Benito
Rating on Booking.com: Superb 9.4
With free on site private – not covered - parking
5 km / 3 miles from city centre Cudillero
- Hotel Casa Vieja del Sastre
Rating on Booking.com: Superb 9.0
With free private on site - not covered - parking
With restaurant
13 km / 8 miles outside of Cudillero
Rating on Booking.com: Very good 8.2
With free on site parking - not covered - with self catered accommodation
With cafetaria
With swimming pool
20 to 25 minute walk to city centre Cudillero
Ride 1
In this ride 1 of 215 km / 135 miles we are going to follow the true Costa Verde towards the West, trying to get some nice ocean views on the way. As we want to do some more nice riding, we will be leaving the coast and thus Costa Verde for the rest of the ride, but we will be staying in the Asturia region to discover the back country of Asturia. And all via roads that look very promising on the map!
Although it is a bit quick after the start of this ride, we definitely recommend to drive up to Cabo Vidio. In our travel guide it was indicated as a must see besides Cudillero. And they were in our opinion right on both! You will get some exciting views on the rugged surface and precipitous cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean of the Costa Verde. The cliffs reach some 80 m / 262 ft above sea level. And from the lookout you can see as far as the Punta de Estaca de Bares to the West, which is the Northernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula, and Cabo de Peñas to the East, just behind Cudillero.
When approaching Luarca you will already get a nice view on the harbour and the Capilla de Nuestra Señora la Blanca built on the cliff to the East side of Luarca.
The village is built on the slopes of the Rio Negro river, which flows into the Bay of Biscay in the harbour of Luarca. Luarca is also on the Northern Camino to Santiago de Compostella. Around the harbour you will find several bars and restaurants with a view over the Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic Ocean. So perfect for our coffeestop! We have added the official parking, but most probably you will find an easy spot like we did.
This part of Asturia is also great for a nice motorcycle ride! Such as the surroundings of the water reservoir Embalse de Pilotuerto, also called El Embalse de La Florida located on the Rio Narcea bed. It was opened in 1952, together with the Embalse La Barca. The dam that we will cross after our stop is the only largescale hydroelectric dam on the river Narcea. If you fancy lunch earlier, we can recommend to find a place in Pola de Allende. But we have added this biker stop Casa Enrique Pilotuerto to have a (late) lunch with a view on the reservoir!
Wow, this part of Asturia is truly beautiful! And as we thought it would be a perfect way to end this ride in Cudillero with a drink on one of the terraces of the Plaza Marina we ended this ride right at the end of the harbour at a bike parking. We really enjoyed this ride and hope you will too! And if you have any questions, please contact us and we will try to help you as quickly as possible.
Ride 2
With ride 2 of the Costa Verde tour we’re gonna shoot down into Asturia to the Parque Natural de Somiedo. The ride is also around 215 km / 135 miles with again enough scenic roads and of course some nice stops. Unfortunately we got to experience why the region is this green. But we still had an amazing day! But if you are doing this ride in the sun, please share some pictures with us!
After some nice riding already we thought it was time for coffee. So we added Casa Pipo in the village of Tuña. Even in wet weather with a nice terrace!
After our coffeestop we have entered the beautiful Parque Natural de Somiedo and the Puerto San Lorenzo is the highest point of this ride. It has an altitude of 1347 metres which is 4420 ft. Normally you should be able to get some pretty amazing views on this part of Asturia and the national parque.......... Were you more lucky with this view? Don’t forget to take loads of pictures, especially if you are doing this ride with some nice weather. And if you are posting on social media, tag us and use the #quazyrides because we still would love to see that view!
After descending from the Puerto de San Lorenzo and passing the town of Teverga you will enter the Desfiladero the Teverga: a Gorge following the river Teverga. And we love riding some gorges: JAY!!!
Wow, all that nice riding gave us an appetite, so we added this stop in Proaza to the ride. It’s just a little town in the middle of the beautiful surroundings we are riding. And on this square you should be able to park ánd find something to eat.
Grado
If you'd like another stop , you can add a sopt in Grado. The village is situated at the crossroad of two of the most important cultural itineraries and communication routes in European history: El Camino de Santiago Primitivo and El Camín Real de la Mesa, an ancient Roman road. Their motto is that everything is possible in Grado…..We decided to keep going to our last stop in this ride closer to Cudillero.
We do love the combination of some nice riding and then some nice views on a beautiful coastline like the Costa Verde. So we have added this Mirador del Espiritu Santo, where the river Nalón flows into the ocean, as a last quick stop before you really go back to Cudillero. Of course the ride will take you there for the last 10 km/6.5 miles. Enjoy these views on the beautiful Costa Verde!
Go on your own QUAZY RIDE
You can download the GPX / ITN files of the rides and the full e-books via our roadtrip planner and then we hope you will enjoy the rides you will be doing in this Quazy Rides Costa Verde tour and your stay in Cudillero.
If you are posting on social media, don't forget to tag Quazy Rides or use the #QuazyRides, because we LOVE to see you having fun with our rides.
