Interesting Facts about Picos de Europa National Park

Today’s Google Doodle celebrates Picos de Europa National Park (Parque Nacional de Picos de Europa) on September 17, 2023. The park, which spans 11 villages in northern Spain, contains a rugged mountain range, lakes, and meadows. On this day in 2001, the Bulnes cable car was officially opened, putting an end to the town’s isolation in the Picos de Europa. The second “G” in today’s Google Doodle artwork contains the Bulnes train station! Here are some interesting and fun facts about Picos de Europa National Park.

20 Interesting Facts about Picos de Europa National Park

1. Northern Spain’s Picos de Europa mountain range is home to the Picos de Europa National Park (Parque Nacional de Picos de Europa).
2. Asturias, Cantabria, Castile, and León, three autonomous communities whose representatives sit on the board that oversees the park, are all inside its borders.
3. Hikers and trekkers enjoy visiting the park as well.
4. It was the first Spanish National Park.
5. The western part of the present-day national park, centered on the Lakes of Covadonga, was covered when it was established on July 22, 1918, with assistance from Pedro Pidal, 1st Marquess of Villaviciosa de Asturias.
6. 169.25 km² made up the Parque Nacional de la Montaña de Covadonga, as it was known at the time. The park’s current total area of 671.27 km² was added to on May 30, 1995, and then again on December 3, 2014.
7. The National Park was granted Biosphere Reserve status by UNESCO on July 9, 2003.
8. One of the biosphere reserves in the Cantabrian Mountains being combined to form the “Gran Cantábrica” superreserve is Picos de Europa.
9. The park is 671 km² and is located in Cantabria, Asturias, and Castilla y León.
10. The Deva River is 75 meters above sea level and the Torre de Cerredo peak is 2,648 meters above sea level, making a vertical drop of 2,573 meters.
11. The Cantabrian Mountains’ limestone massifs were eroded by glaciers, as evidenced by the park’s geological features. The human population is approximately 1300.
12. On January 7, 2021, Vega de Liordes, a locality in the Posada de Valdeón municipality located in the León sector of Picos de Europa, recorded a record-breaking low temperature of −35.8 °C (−32.4 °F).
13. The area has a variety of woodlands; there are beeches and Cantabrian Holm Oaks among the trees.
14. Numerous animal species are protected, including the Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus), the Cantabrian brown bear, the Bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus), the Cantabrian capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus cantabricus), and the Bearded vulture.
15. The Cantabrian chamois, also known as the rebeco, is the most emblematic animal of the Picos de Europa and is depicted in numerous sculptures around the park.
16. The park’s unofficial mascot is the Cantabrian chamois. Mountain goat antelope statues adorn the path markers and hotels all over.
17. With more than 40 varieties of orchids and uncommon animals like the pulsatilla rubra, which is renowned for its vivid red petals and golden yellow stamens, Picos de Europa is also a flower lover’s delight.
18. The park was designated a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2003, designating it as a site for scientific work.
19. Spain increased the park’s boundaries to their current size over ten years later. Picos de Europa is still one of nature’s wonders today and serves as a reminder of the need to preserve it.
20. On September 17, 2023, Google featured a Google Doodle on its homepage to celebrate Picos de Europa.