See the rental
A weekend is plenty for the Ruta del Oso: on Saturday, the 18 km from Entrago to Buyera by bike (2-3 h, all in your favour); on Sunday, Proaza, the Bear House and the pre-Romanesque church of Tuñón, or a side trip to Somiedo.
By David Pintado · 2-day break · 8 min read
Day 1: the main section by bike
Saturday is for the star plan: the 18 km from Entrago to Buyera by bike, with 200 m of descent in your favour and an almost constant gentle downhill. With stops it takes 2-3 hours, so leaving between 10 and 11 am you arrive for lunch unhurried, with the bear enclosure already visited.
Before pedalling: arrival and parking
From Oviedo it is 40 km and about 45 min via the A-63 (exit 9, Trubia) and the AS-228; from Gijón, 70 km and an hour; from León, 85 km via the AP-66 and the Ventana pass.
Entrago has around 60 free spaces, but in July, August and long weekends they fill before 10 am: start early or check the alternatives in the parking guide.
The plan also works without a car: the Oviedo-San Martín de Teverga bus line takes about 55 min and stops at Tuñón, Proaza, Caranga and Entrago. Timetables change by season and are published by the Asturias Transport Consortium; you have the rest of the options in getting there.
The bike, sorted in ten minutes
If you are not bringing your own bike, book one online: pick-up is in Entrago (Polígono de Pradacón, Nave 1) and a full day costs €28 per adult and €50 for the e-bike, with helmet, insurance, map, assistance and the return transfer from Buyera included.
Cancellation is free up to 24 h ahead, and on the day itself if it rains; the rest of the rates, from the baby seat to the tandem, are in prices.
The return transfer from Buyera is what makes the weekend round: you pedal the 18 km always in your favour, hand over the bike on arrival and sit down to lunch in San Martín without retracing your route.
The itinerary, hour by hour
| Time | What's on |
|---|---|
| 9:30 | Park in Entrago; in high season, the earlier the better |
| 10:00 | Bike pick-up at Polígono de Pradacón, Nave 1 |
| 10:30 | Set off; first stop at the Prehistory Park (km 2) |
| 11:45 | Peñas Juntas gorge (km 12), with tunnels 4-5 degrees cooler |
| 12:30 | Proaza (km 14): the village centre is 200 m off the trail |
| 13:00 | Valdecerezales and the iron bridges (km 15-16), a must-take photo |
| 13:30 | Buyera area (km 18): picnic tables, fountain and seasonal bar |
| 14:00 | 0.8 km walk (20 min) to the bear enclosure viewpoint |
| 15:00 | Return transfer and lunch in San Martín |
The Fernanchín enclosure (40,000 m²) deserves that 20 min walk: the outdoor viewpoint is free, right beside the trail itself, and Molina, the rescued bear who arrived in 2013, shows herself on around 70% of visits.
Her best hours are the cool ones, 9-11 am and 5-7 pm, so if she does not appear at midday you get a rematch on Sunday first thing.
Before her, Paca and Tola lived here, the bears who made the valley famous from 1996. One warning: dogs are not allowed at the viewpoint, so you will have to take turns.
For lunch, San Martín, Teverga's capital right next to Entrago, concentrates the handiest options after returning the bike. You have ideas by area in where to eat.
Day 2: villages and bears
Sunday stays in the valley with two possible plans: villages with the Bear House, or a side trip to Somiedo. Our rule is simple: if you saw Molina on Saturday, head for Somiedo; if not, start at the viewpoint at 9 am, her best window.
Plan A: Proaza, the Bear House and the pre-Romanesque
At 9 am, the enclosure viewpoint: park at Buyera (about 15 informal spaces) and walk the 0.8 km of flat trail. Mid-morning, Proaza, home to the Bear House, seat of the Fundación Oso de Asturias, which manages the enclosure's visiting times.
If your legs ask for a walk, the Proaza loop is 5 km and an hour and a half between village and trail.
On the way home, stop at Santo Adriano: the pre-Romanesque church of Tuñón, from the year 891, sits a 300 m detour off the trail and closes the weekend with more than a thousand years of history in front of you.
Plan B: Somiedo, bears in the wild
Somiedo is 45 km and 50 min away via the AS-265 and the San Lorenzo pass, and it is the great territory of the wild brown bear. How to plan the day, with its timings and its rules, is in bear watching in Somiedo.
Save it for when the enclosure is already ticked off the list: seeing Molina is almost guaranteed; seeing a bear in the wild is not.
Where to stay to make the most of the weekend
The offer clusters in Proaza, Teverga and Quirós, all three less than 10 min from the trail: rural guesthouses, country hotels, campsites and motorhome areas. In July and August book three weeks or more ahead; the rest of the year there is margin.
Our recommendation is to sleep in Proaza: you are halfway along the route, with the village centre 200 m from the greenway, and on Sunday you reach the viewpoint in minutes for the 9-11 am window. If you would rather wake up beside Saturday's start, Teverga leaves you next to Entrago.
A detail that adds up: many places will pick you up anywhere along the route and store the bikes.
The full rundown by area and type of accommodation is in where to stay. And if you are still picking a date, aim for May-June or September: they are the months we defend in the best-time guide, with the valley at its peak and parking without a fight.
Ruta del Oso