The Lakes of Covadonga (el. 1134 m.) () are two glacial lakes located on the region of Asturias, Spain. These lakes, often also called Lakes of Enol or simply Los Lagos, are Lake Enol and Lake Ercina located in the Picos de Europa range and they are the original center of the Picos de Europa National Park, created in 1918. They are near the Covadonga Sanctuary.
Lake Enol is situated approximately 10 km from Covadonga and 25 km from Cangas de Onís. A curving road is available from Arriondas to the lake. Measuring , it is one of the biggest lakes in the area. Lake Enol is situated above sea level.
A submerged image of the Virgin Mary is elevated every year on 8 September and then taken out for a procession. Regional dancing occurs at Lake Enol during the Fiesta del Pastor on 25 July.
Lake Ercina is situated at an altitude of and its maximum depth is just over . The eutrophic lake covers approximately .
Vuelta a España The road ascending from Covadonga to the lakes is a popular climb in professional road bicycle racing, having been used by Vuelta a España many times in the last 25 years.
Together with Alto de l'Angliru, Lagos de Covadonga is the most important climb in the modern history of the Vuelta. The road that leads to the lakes starts at Covadonga and is 12.6 kilometres long at an average gradient of 7.3% (height gain: 1056 m). The most demanding section is La Huesera, 7 kilometres from the top of the climb, with an average gradient of 15% during 800 meters. It was featured for the first time in 1983 with the victory of Marino Lejarreta, who was in a fierce battle with Bernard Hinault for overall victory. This was the same Vuelta that saw Hinault, Greg LeMond and Laurent Fignon all riding on the same team. Stage 7 of the 2023 La Vuelta Femenina ended at Lagos de Covadonga, with Dutch cyclist Demi Vollering placing first.
Winners of the Lakes of Covadonga stage - Men YearNameCountry 1983 Marino Lejarreta 1984 Raimund Dietzen 1985 Pedro Delgado 1986 Robert Millar 1987 Lucho Herrera 1989 Álvaro Pino 1991 Lucho Herrera 1992 Pedro Delgado 1993 Oliverio Rincón 1994 Laurent Jalabert 1996 Laurent Jalabert 1997 Pavel Tonkov 2000 Andrei Zintchenko 2001 Juan Miguel Mercado 2005 Eladio Jiménez 2007 Vladimir Efimkin 2010 Carlos Barredo 2012 Antonio Piedra 2014 Przemysław Niemiec 2016 Nairo Quintana 2018 Thibaut Pinot 2021 Primož Roglič 2024 Marc Soler
Winners of the Lakes of Covadonga stage - Women YearNameCountry 2023 Demi Vollering
References
External links Lagos de Covadonga climb details Information and profile of the Covadonga by Climbbybike.com Cycling up to Lagos de Covadonga: data, profile, map, photos and description