Climb	Town	Altitude (m)	Length (km)	Gradient (%)	Difficulty	Rating
Llano de las Ovejas	Ponferrada	1946	33	4.4	1157	****
Llano de las Ovejas	Nogar	1945	18.6	6.1	781	****
Lagunas de Neila	Villavelayo (La Rioja)	1872	19.7	4.8	799	*****
Lagunas de Neila	Quintanar de la Sierra	1872	14.8	5.3	767	*****
Cuitu Negru	Busdongo	1845	11.2	5.7	972	***
Cruz de Hierro	Molinaseca	1510	19.8	4.6	675	****
Cruz de Hierro	Santa Colomba de Somoza (Astorga)	1510	13.2	3.9	271	****
Piedrafita	Villafranca del Bierzo	1107	13.8	3.5	190	****
Laguna de los Peces	Sanabria	1725	16.8	4.2	327	****
Abantos	Aceña River	1640	21.8	2.8	320	***
Alto del León	San Rafael	1511	5.7	4.9	124	*
Puerto de Ancares	Tejedo	1670	8	8.8	1445	*****
Collada Trevinca	La Baña	1837	10.7	7.3	624	****
El Peñon	Doney de la Requejada	1840	10.7	7.4	1024	**
El Peñon	Truchas	1840	14.4	5	743	***
La Covatilla	Béjar	1962	19.7	5.6	974	***
La Quesera	Riaza	1740	13.5	4	400	***
Navacerrada	La Granja	1860	11.4	5.5	409	**
Navafria	Navafría	1778	10.9	5.3	365	***
Panderrueda	Caín	1450	18.8	5.1	1145	****
Pandetrave	Caín	1562	19	5.7	1284	****
Picón del Fraile	Las Machorras	1614	14.7	5.4	644	****
Puerto de la Sía	Espinosa (Las Machorras)	1250	7.2	6	170	***
Puerto de las Señales	Cofiñal	1625	10.1	4.5	179	***
Puerto de Lumeras	Candín	1048	4.3	5.3	115	***
Puerto de Lumeras	Sésamo	1048	6.9	5.7	145	***
Puerto de Montenegro	Montenegro de Cameros	1583	6.2	5.9	141	***
Puerto de Piqueras	Póveda de Soria	1710	9.6	4.5	167	***
Puerto de Pontón	Punete Vidosa	1288	24.8	4.6	340	****
Puerto de Somiedo	Meroy	1486	7.9	3.1	97	****
Puerto de Ventana	Torrebarrio	1587	10.1	3.6	147	***
Puerto de San Glorio	Portilla de la Reina	1609	9.5	4.1	244	***
Orduña	Berberana	903	5.5	5.5	124	***

Mountains

The Castilla-y-León region covers a vast area in central Spain, including several high mountain ranges. The most spectacular and enjoyable mountains for cycling are in the Le&aocute;n region in north-western Spain. Here in the Montes del Leon the mountains are higher and with little traffic.

Elsewhere, Burgos is home to a professional cycle race and also the stunning climb to Lagunas de Neila. In the south of the region the Guadarrama mountains border Madrid province and offer some high altitude climbs, though often on busy roads.

Scenery

The scenery varies considerably throughout the region. On the edge of the region it tends to be more spectacular, whereas in the central part of the province it is flatter and drier, making for less vibrant backdrops.

The most spectacular scenery, without a doubt, is where the region borders the Picos de Europa National Park near the village of Riaño.

Roads

The quality of the roads also varies considerably throughout the region. In the province of León they are generally in good condition; however, in other regions (notably Zamora and Valladolid), many mountain roads are in poor condition with cracks and holes common.

Most climbs have very little traffic on them. As you get closer to larger towns or cities it increases slightly (it is worst in the very south as you get closer to Madrid), but generally traffic is not an issue here at all.

Getting There

The region borders Madrid, which is by far the largest airport nearby. It is also possible to fly into Leon or Burgos, but these are mostly only domestic flights.

There are excellent fast train connections throughout the region from Madrid.

Weather

Castilla-y-León is generally dry and can become hot in summer. Winters are cool in the north and much milder in the south. Snow is common at high altitde in the winter, but is almost non-existant by the middle of Spring.

Tours

Our Picos de Europa cycling holiday spends two nights in Castilla-y-León, centered on the spectacular town of Riaño.

Our tour to the Ancares National Reserve also climbs some of the toughest climbs in the region - including Llano de los Ovejas, Cruz de Hierro and Ancares.

Our Camino de Santiago holiday also crosses the northern part of the region. This does not include any of the most difficult climbs - although it is possible to do them as an extension.

Finally, our unique guided tour tackling the great climbs of the Vuelta a España also includes several climbs from the northern part of the region.

If you would be interested in organizing a bespoke cycling holiday in Castilla-y-León, please Contact Us