The wild road to Picon del Fraile in northern Spain
Spain, europe
4.5 km
1,590 m
moderate
Year-round
# Picón del Fraile: A Thrilling Alpine Challenge in Northern Spain
Ready for a serious mountain adventure? Picón del Fraile is a stunning 1,590m (5,216ft) peak sitting right on the border between Cantabria and Castile and León in Spain's north. It's nestled within the gorgeous Collados del Asón Natural Park, deep in the scenic Soba Valley.
The summit's crowned by a military radar station (EVA 12) that's been keeping watch since 1997—pretty cool to see up close if you make it that far!
The road up, nicknamed Las Motas, is fully paved, but don't let that fool you. It's a gnarly, twisting climb with some seriously steep pitches hitting 17% gradient. Starting from Portillo de Lunada on the BU-572 road, you're looking at a 4.5 km (2.79 miles) push uphill with 308 meters of elevation gain and an average 6.84% gradient. Fair warning: the final stretch is off-limits to regular vehicles—only official traffic gets through.
Here's where it gets real: the weather up here is absolutely brutal and wildly unpredictable. Back in February 2013, the road became completely impassable for over a month straight, buried under snow walls exceeding 20 meters. Helicopters were the only way to resupply the base. So pick your timing carefully and respect Mother Nature—she's not messing around on this mountain.
Where is it?
The wild road to Picon del Fraile in northern Spain is located in Spain (europe). Coordinates: 40.0887, -2.7890
Road Details
- Country
- Spain
- Continent
- europe
- Length
- 4.5 km
- Max Elevation
- 1,590 m
- Difficulty
- moderate
- Coordinates
- 40.0887, -2.7890
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