Asturias


Normally it is called Asturias, but actually its name is Principality of Asturias, and it is an autonomous community and province in northwest Spain. Situated along the Atlantic Ocean in the North, with a narrow coastal plain followed by a mountain range to the south, the Cordillera Cantábrica, this is part of "Green Spain". The climate is wet and temperate oceanic, there are lush pastures and forests, it is more like Ireland than like the hot and arid center of Spain. The Picos de Europa National Park contains the highest and most spectacular mountains of the Cordillera Cantábrica, the Torrecerredo (2,648 m asl) is the highest peak. And as they are karstified limestone, there are quite spectacular caves. Numerous caves are open to the public as show caves or as cave churches, several caves are inaccessible because of the spectacular prehistoric cave paintings. The tourist cave are located at the foot of the mountains along the coast.