Asturias is one of the seventeen autonomous communities of Spain, and can be found in the far north of the country. Many of the autonomous communities of Spain are further sub-divided into provinces and Asturias is no exception albeit there is only one province in this region, which is also named Asturias.

The autonomous community is bordered as follows:

· on the east by Cantabria
· on the south by Castilla y León
· on the west by Galicia
· on the north by the Cantabrian Sea

The capital of the province, Oviedo along with the seaport of Gijón and the industrial town of Avilés are the most important cities of the region with other major towns including Mieres, Siero, Cangas de Onís, Cangas del Narcea, Grado, Lena, Laviana, El Entrego, Villaviciosa and Llanes.

High mountain ranges spanning some 200 kilometres, characterize the landscape of Asturias and within these ranges some of Spain’s most exceptional nature reserves, such as Picos de Europa and the national parks of Covadonga and Somiedo, can be found.

Climbing, walking, skiing and caving are just some of the activities which are catered for in this Mecca for sports enthusiasts, whilst the lush green landscapes of the rest of the region offers peace and tranquillity for the non-extreme amongst us. Such is the contrast of the landscape that the question should be ‘Where else could you find high mountain peaks a few miles from a coastline which has great beaches and colourful fishing villages?’

As extensive as it is spectacular, the Asturian coastline is littered with hundreds of beaches, coves and natural sea caves. Playa del Silencio (Beach of Silence) close to the fishing village of Cudillero and the many, many beaches, which surround the summer resort of LLanes, are particularly noteworthy. Barro, Ballota and Torimbia (which is predominantly a nudist beach) are just a few of these and it is not unusual to see grazing livestock on top of the steep cliffs which border most of the fine, sandy beaches.

With an annual rainfall varying between 1m and 1.5m, the province can claim to be one of the wettest in the Iberian peninsular and Degaña, with its average of 2.13m per year is one of the wettest areas within the region. The mountainous areas of Asturias have, predictably, harsh and bitterly cold winter periods, whilst in contrast, the coast enjoys mild summers and winters with yearly average temperatures in Oviedo being 13ºC. Snowfall is commonplace in the Somiedo and Picos regions between November and January.

Food and Drink

Asturias is renowned for both its seafood and for its regional dish Fabada Asturiana, which is a rich, tasty stew made with large white beans, shoulder of pork, black sausage, spicy sausage and saffron.

The traditional alcoholic drink of the region is a natural cider made with apples harvested from the many apple groves here and it is usually served "El Escanciado". The bottle, when using this method, must be held above head height, which allows the cider to have a long vertical pour, and since it is bottled without gas, the cider becomes aerated as it splashes into the glass giving it a pleasant, refreshing taste.

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