Cheese route of Onís. Gamoneu P.D.O. Cheese

Discover the agricultural and livestock landscapes, ethnography and biodiversity in the Picos de Europa.

Experience focused on agricultural and livestock landscapes and biodiversity associated with this area of the Cantabrian mountains.

The activity takes place in half a day, morning or afternoon, seeking the knowledge of the villages and towns in the area of influence of the National Park of Picos de Europa.

We will make a walk (which can be done on foot or in a vehicle that makes it accessible to people with reduced mobility) that will lead us to make a reading of the landscape, paying special attention to the ethnographic elements that facilitate the reintroduction of the species and the benefits for it, but also for the complex natural and cultural ecosystem and its complicated balance. It is completed with a visit to the Gamoneu Protected Designation of Origin Cheese Factory and a visit to a Natural Cave representative of cheese ripening.

The anthropized landscape of the Cantabrian coast, and particularly of the Picos de Europa area, is the heritage of a traditional activity that has its roots in a remote past, preserving a tangible and intangible heritage of unquestionable richness.

The rich ecosystem from which people and livestock obtain their sustenance is intertwined with a cultural heritage that, after going through various crises and substantial changes, is currently facing an uncertain future.

The complex mosaic landscape, composed of cultivated areas, mowed meadows, natural mixed meadows, scrubland and native forest, is currently threatened by a simplification resulting from neglect. The causes are varied: an economy centered on the service sector, livestock farming increasingly specialized in meat-oriented cattle, an increasingly aging population, etc. If we add to these factors a climate change with increasingly evident effects, with recurrent periods of drought and frequent extreme phenomena, the change in the traditional landscape is evident.

The biodiversity associated with this complex landscape, in terms of flora and fauna, is still present and easily observable: buzzards, kites, swallows, foxes, among others, surround our villages and lower areas of the valleys.