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| The majada or mountain pasture of Vega Ceñal in the Western Massif of the Picos de Europa |
Much of the scenery, tracks
and pathways within the Picos de Europa are due to the pastoral livelihoods of
the local people - a way of life that still exists but is in decline.
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| A farmer moves his cows from a lower valley settlement to the high mountain pasture near the majada de Juentes |
Typically farming in the Picos de Europa
involved
the local people moving their
cattle, sheep, goats and horses from their low-altitude winter quarters in the
valleys, to the mid-altitude pastures ("invernales"), then to the
high mountain pastures ("majadas"), a practice which may have begun
during Neolithic times, and can involve up to 1000m of altitude gain.
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| Cows grazing in the high pastures way above the Lakes of Covadonga |
Many
people never left the majadas from spring through to winter, remaining high in
the mountains with their animals for 6 or 7 months of the year, living in
clusters of small stone huts. However today very few farmers spend the
summer months in the mountain settlements, most just visit their animals a couple
of times each week.
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| The stunning setting of the abadoned high pastures of the Beyugal where farners would have lived for up to six months of the year |
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| A stone pig stye in the pastures of Mohandi |
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| The evocative settlement of El Hascal about to be engulfed in mist |
Many such evocative
settlements dot the area, testament to a hard life, and some are still used,
but most are falling into disrepair. It is the western massif of the Picos de
Europa where there are most of these settlements and coming across them can be
a highlight to a walk in the area.
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| Farmers hut near Vega Ario on one of the classic walks in the Westen Massif of the Picos de Europa |
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| Goats in Los Bobias |
It was in these majadas
that the region's renowned cheeses came into being - Cabrales from the area
around Sotres and Bulnes, Gamoneu from the northern slopes of the Western
Massif, and Picón from Tresviso in the Eastern Massif, to name just three.
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| Traditional Gamoneu cheese making in the high mountains pasture of Vega Maor |
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| Goats being milked for cheese in the early morning sun. Los Bobias |
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| A difficult pass; Paso El Picayo originally used by farmers now used by brave walkers. |
Networks of well-built
routes join the majadas to the invernales, villages and homesteads, across cols
and ridges and "sedus" (difficult passes), often achieving traverses which
appear to be unlikely, verging on the impossible. It is feats such as these
that remind us how wise and in tune with the nature of the mountains people
have been, and can be. These routes and settlements, built with local natural
materials and human hands, give a feeling of awe.
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| A farmers stone hut in El Hascal |
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| Sheep grazing above Los Bobias |
The people of the Picos de
Europa co-evolved with the landscape during millennia, grazing their livestock,
cutting wood for building and burning, coppicing chestnuts and hazels,
harnessing the power of water to grind their grain, and leaving their mark on
the landscape in many ways, as it left its mark on them. It is this symbiosis
of people and landscape that lends the area its inspirational quality.
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| Man co-evolving with the landscape Vega La Piedra |
