Playa de Gulpiyuri, Asturias

Asturias has an abundance of wonderful beaches; long sandy ones, small rocky ones, a few busy ones, many deserted ones, some unusual ones.

Most unusual of all is Playa de Gulpiyuri near Llanes. It has all the essentials of any beach anywhere: sand, salt-water, rocks, cliffs, waves and tide. But it is surrounded 360° by fields! This beach is over 100 metres from the sea.

Gulpiyuri is a deep hollow in the land linked to the sea by a natural underground channel. The tides drive the sea in and out providing all the essentials of the seaside, except a sea view.

The beach is only about 50 metres across but few people ever visit so you are unlikely to be bothered by crowds. There is next-to-no signposting (use Google Maps or GPS, coordinates 43.447622, -4.886127) and you will have to trek along a coastal footpath to get there. When you reach it, the sight of this amazing little place is your reward for taking the trouble to go where few people will follow.

While visiting this little piece of coastline don't miss out on the Cañon de Villahormes and the Castro de las Gaviotas. The former is an extraordinary deep gash in the cliff (best seen at high tide with a rough sea) while the latter is a vast rock arch that has been carved into the most amazing and precarious shape by the action of the sea and the weather.

There are more subterranean passages leading through the cliffs from the sea at Bufones de Pria. In this case the result is a vertical rush of air and water as waves crash into the caves below, creating spectacular sea-water geysers on the cliff above. Be careful when planning your visit: the Bufones are near Llames, not the more well-known town of Llanes.

Hotel Las Helgueras and Posada del Valle are two small country hotels conveniently nearby.

We also list a number of other hotels in Asturias, any of which are within reasonable distance of the Asturias coast.

31 Jan 2016, 14:51