Potes is the most famous village in Liébana and the perfect base for exploring the Picos de Europa. Its Casa del Oso, in the historic centre, condenses the story of the brown bear into a short and highly visual visit: its biology, the drastic population crash of the 20th century and the recovery that Cantabria celebrates today.
It is the ideal visit to start the day before setting off on the valley’s trails or heading up into the Picos.
What to see at the Casa del Oso de Potes
The exhibition traces the life of the Cantabrian brown bear through panels, models and audiovisual material: what it eats, how it hibernates, how it raises its young, and the real threats facing a species that still needs ecological corridors to survive.
When you finish, Potes is on your side: the medieval historic centre, its arcades and Liébana’s gastronomy (cocido stew, orujo brandy and cheeses) turn the visit into a perfect plan.
Liébana, the valley of the returning bear
The Liébana region — Potes, Pesaguero, Camaleño, Cabezón de Liébana — is the great eastern frontier of the Cantabrian brown bear. The population, which in the 1980s could be counted on the fingers of one hand in Cantabria, now exceeds 100 individuals across the whole community, and Liébana is its main route of expansion.
In autumn, bears come down to the oak and chestnut groves of the valley; seeing them from the viewpoints along the mountain roads is becoming less exceptional every year.
- Picos de Europa: Fuente Dé, its cable car and the Central Massif, 20–30 minutes from Potes.
- The Liébana bear trail: the route along the river Bullón and the riverside forests of the valley.
- Best season: spring and above all autumn (hyperphagia) to try to see bears.
