Walking in the Cordillera Cantabrica - Northern Spain

This mountaineering guidebook describes 60 routes spread around Spain's Cordillera Cantabrica range. Based on selected valley bases with easy access. All the routes are circular and can be done in a day, whilst in difficulty they vary from straightforward, half-day outings to strenuous, full-day ascents.

IGN (1:25,000)
Series: 30-II, 31-IV
52-II-III-IV, 53-IV, 54-I-II-III-V, 55-III
75-IV, 76-II-IV, 79-I-III-IV
80-I, 81-I-III-IV, 82-I-III
100-II-IV
101-IV, 102-II-III,103-II-III, 104-II-III, 105-I-III, 106-I-II-III, 107-I
127-II
131-I

Adrados, Parque Natural de Somiedo 1:60,000
Adrados, Macizo de Pena Ubina 1:25,000

Maps: Only five years ago this was a thorny problem. There were large gaps in the IGN’s (Instituto Geográfico Nacional) 1:25,000 series, whilst the 1:50,000 series was, and still is, simply not accurate enough. Some local mountaineers spoke well of the military maps, but they were not freely available, especially to somebody arriving from outside the area, a situation which has not improved.

Today, whilst some numbers still await revision, the IGN 1:25,000 series is virtually complete, with many of the maps having been revised only recently. As a result, these maps are mostly up-to-date and accurate, with map contouring almost always spot on. Sadly, however, errors occur rather too frequently with names, some being trivial, but others less so.

In addition to the 1:25,000 series, the IGN have also published a number of tourist maps (Mapa-Guía), one of which covers the area described in the section ‘Palencia and Cantabria’. These maps are complemented by two maps published privately by Miguel Adrados: those covering the Parque Natural de Somiedo and the excellent 1:25,000 map of the Ubiña massif. Overall, it is now fair to say that acceptable mapping is available at 1:25,000 for almost all of the routes in this guide. Where mapping is inadequate, this is compensated for by greater detail in the route description.

It is not necessary to buy the full 1:25,000 IGN series in order to use this guide, nor would it be economical, as the full series would cost some £250. In each route description an indication is given of the specific map requirements and how these are best met in instances where various options are available. The introduction to each sector also provides a list of essential maps, whilst the following maps might be of help in travelling around the area:
•    Cordillera Cantábrica1:200,000 IGN
•    Provincia de Asturias 1:200,000 IGN
•    Provincia de León 1:200,000 IGN
•    Provincia de Palencia 1:200,000 IGN
•    Cordillera Cantábrica 1:260,000 Adrados Ediciones.

All these maps can be obtained a number of ways (see Appendix 1 for further details):

Via map and guide specialists in the UK. Initially, this method might appear to be the easiest, but UK specialists will probably not be able to supply you with everything you want.

Buying the maps once in Spain. This is the cheapest method, but many walkers want the maps beforehand for planning purposes.

The Casa del Mapa are official outlets for the Instituto Geográfico Nacional, and as such all three offer a full display of all their publications, although obviously none of them sell maps other than those of the IGN.

Buying the maps from a Spanish mail order specialist. Two companies curr­ently offer a reliable service for internet ordering:

Eñe-Revista de Libros Españoles
http://www.paquebote.com
consultas@paquebote.com

Librería Desnivel
http://www.libreriadesnivel.com
clientes@libreriadesnivel.com