Your FULL GUIDE to Bulnes, Asturias (explore via Bulnes funicular or hike)

Where is Bulnes?

Bulnes is located in the Picos de Europa National Park in the region of Asturias, Spain.

Click on the map to open in Google Maps

The village is close to the villages of Poncebos & Sotres, and it’s a good starting point to climb the famous Naranjo de Bulnes.

There are 3 ways to reach this remote village:

• hike from Poncebos
• hike from Sotres
• take the Bulnes funicular from Poncebos

Let’s see all 3 of them in more details!

Hike to Bulnes: The Ruta Poncebos Bulnes

The first way to reach Bulnes is to hike from Poncebos; it’s one of the most popular hikes in the area, along with the Covadonga Lakes hike. It made the cut in my top Asturias hikes.

Here’s the profil of the hike:

Hike Poncebos to Bulnes

The hike is technically rather easy; there is a well-defined and well-maintained trail that you follow all the way to Bulnes, and I’ve seen plenty of families with children on the hike.

You’ll find below the map of the hike:

You can download the GPX file by clicking on the image above if you want to use in your GPS app/smartwatch.

The hike starts right next to the Puente La Jaya: you’ll see a fork with a sign showing the way, and a small house on the left side of the road across the river. If you keep going straight, you’ll get to the most famous hike in Picos de Europa, the Ruta del Cares.

You can park your car on the side of the road at any point, but there is very limited spaces. Make sure to arrive early if you want to be able to park right next to the start of the hike. Otherwise you’ll have to park down the road, or in front of the funicular.

In summer, the spots are quickly taken, and sometimes you’ll even have to go back to the previous village (Las Arenas) to park your car. This is why I highly recommend getting an early start to avoid having to walk an additional 30 minutes on the side of the road to get to the start of the hike.

We were lucky to find a parking spot right next to the hike, and started the hike by going down to the bridge and crossing the river. After the bridge, the climb to Bulnes begins.

The ruta Poncebos Bulnes was the first hike we did on our Asturias trip, and I had not hiked for a while before that. The steep climb was a good workout, but the views we had all along the hike were so good that I wasn’t even paying attention to my burning calves.

After a solid hour of hike under direct sun and 34 degrees heat (not the brightest idea to start the hike at 3pm), we arrived at the funicular, where you’ll find bathrooms to fill up your water bottles and drink fresh water.

Right after the funicular we passed the first building of Bulnes, the church of the Virgin of the Snow.

And then, we finally reached the village. Even in the middle of August, there were only a few people in Bulnes, which makes it a really good choice if you want to escape the crowds for a while.

We arrived in Bulnes around 4:30pm, and we waited 30 minutes for our hostel to open. We emptied our bags in the lockers (make sure you pack light when backpacking Europe!), and then went on to explore the area around Bulnes, up to the Mirador de Bulnes (more info on the mirador below).

That night, we enjoyed a delicious warm meal at the local restaurant (Bar Guillermina), then went to sleep in the hostel before hiking to Sotres the following day.

Hike from Sotres to Bulnes, Spain

The second way to reach Bulnes is to hike from Sotres. Sotres is another mountain village like Bulnes, and it’s the highest village in the Picos de Europa National Park.

Starting from Sotres to reach Bulnes is definitely more difficult than hiking from Poncebos, as you’ll start the hike with a big elevation change (go down in the valley from Sotres then go up the mountain again before going down to Bulnes).

Here’s the profil of the hike:

Hike Sotres to Bulnes Spain

If you’re interested in this hike (or if you want to see more pictures) I’ve written a full guide about it – you can check it out here: Hike from Bulnes to Sotres

Take the Bulnes Funicular to the Top

The third way to reach Bulnes is with the Funicular de Bulnes, also known as Teleferico de Bulnes. It’s not an outside funicular like the Fuente Dé Funicular, but it goes in a tunnel, through the mountain.

Up until 2001 the only way to reach Bulnes was through the mountain trails; thanks to massive construction work (with an insane cost of 18 million euros), the funicular Bulnes – Poncebos was born.

Now if you want to avoid the hike – or if it’s too hard for you – you can still reach Bulnes by using the funicular. It climbs 402 meters (1,318 feet) in 7 minutes, and can transport up to 48 people.

Here are all the details for the Naranjo de Bulnes funicular:

Teleferico Bulnes

You can purchase your tickets directly on-site at the funicular.

Bulnes de Arriba & Bulnes de Abajo

The village of Bulnes is divided in 2 parts: Bulnes de Arriba and Bulnes de Abajo (literally upper Bulnes and lower Bulnes).

When you first reach Bulnes (either from Poncebos or Sotres), you will be in lower Bulnes. This is the main part of the village, with the most restaurants & hotels.

From there, follow the path that goes past the houses and you’ll see a sign pointing to “Mirador Lallende“; this will lead you to the second part of Bulnes, upper Bulnes.

The path to upper Bulnes takes about 10 minutes, and it’s pretty steep. At the end of the path, you will reach the second part of the village, which has many houses in ruins but offers fantastic views over the valley.

From up there, you can see the Canal del Tejo, the hiking trail going from Poncebos to Bulnes.

If you keep going towards the main mountain, where you can see a house with a red roof below, you’ll reach the Mirador.

Bar Mirador Lallende

At the end of the village you will find the Bar Mirador Lallende, from where you’ll have a spectacular view over the mountains and the valley.

I loved sitting there on the terrace, sipping a cold lemonade with this view; definitely a nice way to recover from the hike!

The prices up there are surprisingly low, too; around 2 bucks for a coffee where I would have expected higher prices for such a remote area.

Want to see even more photos? Click below!

Mirador Naranjo de Bulnes

Bulnes is also a pretty popular village because it’s the last stop before el Naranjo de Bulnes.

Naranjo de Bulnes, originally named Picu Urriellu, is a 2,529 meters high mountain in Picos de Europa (8,200 feet).

It’s not the highest mountain in the area, but it’s the most famous. The peak is famous locally and internationally in the world of rock climbing and it’s a goal for climbers to reach the top.

While the climb is pretty though (you need full climbing gear to climb the face of the rock), we can enjoy the view of the peak from different viewpoints in the region; one of them is the Mirador Naranjo de Bulnes, right above Bulnes.

From Bulnes, follow the trail going up the mountain, along the Tejo river. It will take you 5 minutes to reach the mirador de Bulnes, which will be on your left at the first fork in the trail (paved steps going up on the left).

Oh and if you see a cat, follow him as he seems to always hang out at the mirador 😀

When you go down from the mirador del Naranjo de Bulnes to Bulnes, you’ll reach a small overlook where you’ll have an epic view of upper Bulnes and the mountains (I stayed there wayyy too long the 3 times I walked there taking a million photos).

Tag me in your photos @kev_mrc if you post to Instagram!

Where to Stay in Bulnes

In Bulnes, I slept in the main hostel Albergue Villa de Bulnes.

The hostel is pretty recent, and everything is super clean. There are lockers under the beds, which are very convenient for leaving your stuff before heading out to hike in the mountains. And it also comes with included all you can eat breakfast, which is pretty cool.

Check for Best Price

Visit Spain

Planning a trip to Bulnes and Spain? You can find below several other articles about this wonderful part of the world to help you plan your trip:

Asturias Guides:

Discovering the Picos de Europa National Park

Your Guide to the Parque Natural de Somiedo

The Best Beaches in Asturias, Spain

Spain Guides:

Best Sunrise Spot in Mallorca

Best Daytrips from Madrid

Discover Toledo, the City of 3 Cultures

I hope you enjoy your trip to Asturias and to Spain!

If you have any questions, let me know in the comments below, I always reply.