Plan your visit
The Bear House (Casa del Oso) in Proaza has been the headquarters of the Asturias Bear Foundation since 1996: three floors of exhibits at km 14 of the trail and an enclosure with Molina the bear 0.8 km from the Buyera recreation area.
Opening times and prices
The opening times and admission price of the Bear House are set by the Asturias Bear Foundation (FOA), which has run the centre since 1996.
As of this guide, its official website does not publish a fixed timetable or closed rates, so the reliable route is twofold: check osodeasturias.es and confirm by phone on +34 985 96 30 60 (or by email to info@osodeasturias.es) before heading over.
Be wary of the opening hours floating around third-party portals: they change by season and many have gone years without an update. Our recommendation is firm: if you travel outside the summer, call that same morning, because a small centre in a mountain municipality adjusts its openings with the calendar.
What does not depend on any timetable is the outdoor viewpoint of the bear enclosure. It is free, sits right beside the trail at km 19 from Entrago, 0.8 km from the Buyera recreation area, and you can look in any day of the year without paying admission.
Bear House (interpretation centre, Proaza)
Admission is published by the FOA and the timetable changes by season.
- Confirm on +34 985 96 30 60
- Or by email to info@osodeasturias.es
Bear enclosure viewpoint (km 19)
Free entry, no timetable to check.
- Open access from the trail
- Open all year round
The exhibition has opening hours; the viewpoint does not. If the Bear House is closed when you pass, the visit to Molina still stands: the viewpoint beside the trail is free and open 365 days a year.
If you travel with a large group or a school, the FOA also organises environmental education programmes and learning itineraries through the Bear Valleys. They are arranged separately from the open visit and should be requested in advance through the same channels.
What to see inside
Inside, a three-floor interpretation centre dedicated to the Cantabrian brown bear awaits.
The ground floor holds the reception, a tourist information point, the shop and the museum area with the exhibition on the species; the first floor has an audiovisual room, a multi-purpose hall and a documentation centre with books and archives on the bear, and the second is reserved for offices.
The visit is rounded off by the educational garden: panels on biodiversity, native plant species and reproductions of animal tracks. It is the part that works best if you come with children, because it can be covered in a short while and connects what they saw in the exhibition with what they will later see on the trail.
The bear enclosure and Molina the bear
On the outskirts, on Fernanchín hill, the foundation keeps two enclosures: the original one from 1996, over 40,000 m², and a second compound opened in 2008 with a rehabilitation area for wild individuals. The only current tenant is Molina, a rescued female bear who arrived in 2013.
Before her, this was home to Paca and Tola, the two cubs rescued in Tineo in 1989 who inaugurated the enclosure on 26 May 1996. Tola died in 2018 and Paca on 10 April 2025; we tell their full story on the Paca and Tola page.
The shortest access to the viewpoint leaves from the Buyera recreation area, at km 18: 0.8 km and about 20 minutes on foot along the trail itself, with picnic tables, a fountain and a seasonal bar for the wait. From the viewpoint, the chance of seeing Molina is around 70%, peaking in the cool hours of the day. To make it work:
- Best windows: 9 to 11 am and 5 to 7 pm, when the bear is most active.
- Allow 15-20 minutes per turn and give up your spot if people are waiting.
- Dogs are not allowed at the viewpoint: if there are several of you, take turns. More tips in the guide to the trail with a dog.
How to combine the visit with the route
The plan that works best is riding down the trail in the morning and leaving the viewpoint and the village for the final stretch.
Rent in Entrago (adult bike for €28 for the full day, e-bike for €50, with helmet, insurance and the transfer back from Buyera included), leave between 10 and 11 and cover the 18 km to Buyera in 2-3 hours with stops: that is 200 m of descent in your favour at an average gradient of 1.5%.
The centre of Proaza sits 200 m from the trail at km 14, so you can visit the Bear House halfway down and then carry on to the enclosure, at km 19. All the rates are detailed on the rental prices page, and more ideas for the village are in the Proaza guide.
On foot, the perfect option is the Proaza circular: 5 km and an hour and a half combining village, trail and viewpoint. If you prefer a linear section, the one from Tuñón to Proaza follows 8 km of the old mining course, with the pre-Romanesque church of Santo Adriano de Tuñón (year 891) a 300 m detour away.
For parking, Proaza offers about 20 free spaces which fill up before 10:00 in July, August and on long weekends; Entrago, with about 60 spaces, and Tuñón, with 40, are the alternatives with more depth. The full map is in the parking guide.
Without a car, the Oviedo-San Martín de Teverga bus line stops in Tuñón, Proaza, Caranga and Entrago in about 55 minutes; seasonal timetables are with the Asturias Transport Consortium and the rest of the access options in getting there.
If after the enclosure you want to try to see a wild bear, Somiedo lies 45 km away, about 50 minutes on the AS-265 and over the San Lorenzo pass: it is the reference for watching bears in the wild.
And if you can pick your dates, May-June and September are the best time: mild temperatures, fewer people and those cool hours when Molina shows herself most.
Ruta del Oso