Desfiladero de La Hermida (N-621)

Northern Spain's longest gorge, where the N-621 threads a deep limestone canyon beside the Deva river into the eastern Picos de Europa.

From Panes the N-621 plunges into the Desfiladero de La Hermida, a boxed canyon some twenty kilometres long carved by the Deva through the eastern Picos de Europa. Sheer limestone walls rise hundreds of metres on either side, often shutting out the sun, while the road clings to the river through the hamlets of La Hermida and Lebeña on its way toward Potes. It is not a hairpin road but a fast-feeling, sinuous gorge run on a national road that has seen recent widening works, so expect a mix of smooth new sections and older narrow stretches. Mind oncoming traffic on narrow pinch points, ongoing roadworks and temporary lights, and rockfall and shadow ice in the deep gorge.