Parque Natural Lagunas Glaciares de Neila (Castilla y Leon): Hiking

View from the highest point of the hike. 

The park of Lagunas Glaciares de Neila (glacial lakes of Neila) is located in the Neila mountains, surrounded by peaks that can reach higher than 2,000m. The area has an astounding variety of landscapes with moss and lichen filled forests, clustered pine forests, open pastures for cows to graze, gorges, lakes, rivers and waterfalls. Located about a two hour drive from Gumiel de Mercado, a day trip was in order to investigate the park.

Coming from the relative plains of Castilla y Leon, the drive east towards the park gradually transforms with fields of wheat and sunflowers giving way to massive rocky hills and plateaus. The roads become very narrow and switchbacks are common. The park's headquarters are located in the tiny town of Neila, a historical pastoral community. In fact, the park has only recently been created (since 2009) and much of the park is sculpted by the pastoral history. The residents have a history of practicing“ganadería trashumante”, which basically means taking letting the animals free range in the mountains during the summer and then moving them into enclosures in the winter. This practice still continues today, evidenced by frequent encounters on the trails with cows, as well as open pastures resulting from seasonal grazing. We even encountered a pilón, a traditional water source for animals. The pilón is a spring fed reservoir that provides a constant source of water for the animals.

Pilón full of water. I was tempted to swim in this thing. 

We chose a hike that was about 10km, called “PRC-BU 205 Sendero Las Nilsas”. The hike was very hilly and provided exquisite vistas of the mountains. There was a refugio, or small communal camping shed, located in a valley about halfway through the hike. Apparently these used to be very popular in Spain, though they are becoming a bit more scarce. The camping shed is very basic, though the people who have come before appear to have had the 'pay it forward' mentality leaving firewood, matches, hiking sticks and other essentials. Upon further study of our map, there are about six refugios in the park. Even though it was Sunday, we only saw two other people our entire hike, and that was only at the trail head as we finished. The hike was demanding with extreme climbs but the views were worth it. Maybe next time we can plan a longer trip with overnight stays at refugios!

Moss and lichen were everywhere in this section of the trail.

Wild horses. Not just the Rolling Stones song but literally. 

Pine forests had an amazing smell!

Refugio from a distance with free ranging cows.

Refugio for camping.

River running through the landscape.