Covadonga…

The Covadonga lakes are some of the most spectacular scenery in Spain, if you have the time I'd go to see them. Before 7:30 am you are allowed to drive up to the lakes in your own vehicle.

For those non-Catholic, as it´s a recurrent mistaken concept: a cathedral (coming from Greek, "seat") is the church where a bishop has its "seat" or main "base". The church at Covadonga is a "basilica", of less importance and with less privileges than a cathedral.

Carlos, we had planned to drive up to the lakes before 7:30A but recently saw information that this year the road is closed to private vehicles 24/7 through September….?

Mml you may be right, I'll admit it's been a few years since I last was at the lakes. Here is the info I could find from the official website

ACCESO A LOS LAGOS DE COVADONGA
El acceso a los lagos de Covadonga este año 2024 es libre en vehículo particular excepto los días considerados como temporada alta. El acceso tiene algunas restricciones en la época de temporada alta desde el 1 de junio al 15 de octubre, semana santa del 23 al 31 de marzo, puente de mayo del 27 de abril al 5 de mayo ambos inclusive, y algunos fines de semana del año y otros días específicos que os detallamos a continuación:

ACCESO A LOS LAGOS DE COVADONGA 2024

1 – Cierre de la carretera para mayor seguridad en temporada alta:
Prohibido el acceso a vehículos particulares en temporada alta

IMPORTANTE: Habrá que reservar billete anticipadamente en la web de Alsa: www.alsa.es

2 – Mejora de frecuencias:
Se ofertarán 2.700 plazas diarias con venta anticipada de las 2.700 plazas diarias disponibles, una medida que promete evitar colas y agilizar el proceso de transporte. La reorganización de las frecuencias también será notable, con nueve salidas de subida y otras tantas de bajada.

3 – Puntos de salida:
Los usuarios contarán con tres puntos de salida en cada franja horaria: estación de autobuses de Cangues d’Onís/Cangas de Onís, aparcamiento El Bosque y aparcamiento de Muñíu. Todos los autobuses realizarán paradas en El Repelao y Cuadonga/Covadonga para facilitar la visita al Real Sitio de Covadonga
IMPORTANTE: Es obligatorio adquirir el billete de ida y vuelta antes de acceder al autobús. La compra pueda hacerse anticipadamente de manera telemática en www.alsa.es, en taquilla o en los puntos de venta autorizados.

https://lagosdecovadonga.org/accesos

It looks like in the high season you are correct The road is closed to all private traffic in 2024

We just went last month. The buses work fine. Drive to any of the lots and buy your bus tickets.

I consider myself a relatively experienced driver and would not do that drive. It is terrifying.

Here’s how it worked for us. We drove to the town of covadogna and parked in lot 3. This was at about 10am, so peak time. We bought our bus tickets (round trip) which are timed. It was about a 90 minute wait until our bus. We then walked to the sanctuary (15 minutes), saw it and ate lunch at the very affordable cafeteria (20 euros for 4 sandwiches a bag of chips 2 waters and 2 sodas). Good bathrooms too. We then walked back to the bus stop. Bus ride took 45 (scary) minutes. We then hiked for 2 hours and took the bus back. We got back at around 7 and the nearby restaurants were closed so we drove home and cooked. More detail than you need but figured I’d share. Definitely worth it in my opinion.

Great info, Matt! Thanks so much.

Whether or not you are allowed to drive up, do it. The buses are a minor inconvenience for the spectacular scenery.

As for the drive up and back, I didn’t find it so bad. Before they closed access to private vehicles, all traffic is going up. No chance of meeting opposing traffic. Only issue were 3 sheepdogs who owned the road and were not willing to share, and a couple of adolescent rams doing their head butting jousts in the roadway (I found those a plus, not a negative). Going back down it’s all buses the other way, those guys are pros and can safely deal with us neophyte tourists.