Alto Campoo, Spain; a travel guide to the ski-station of Alto Campoo

Visit Alto Campoo

Alto Campoo is in the province of Cantabria in the Asturias and Cantabria region of Spain.

Alto Campoo is a lovely ski resort in the Cantabrian mountains. During the spring and summer it is a beautiful mountain setting popular with walkers.

Explore Alto Campoo

Alto Campoo is a small ski resort with a ski school and twenty-three pistes, nine of which are intermediate (red) level. There is a ski school and a couple of restaurants as well as a disco and a swimming pool. There is also a nursery for younger children.

The resort caters particularly well to beginner and intermediate level skiers. Snowboarding is also permitted and there is a snow park for this purpose with jumps.

At the base of the resort is the purpose-built ski town of Branavieja with ski-apartments for hire. There are also rural houses for hire in the area offering a charming alternative.

It is small but it's a lovely spot situated high in the Cantabrian mountains. The peaks of Tres Mares, El Chivo and the Cuchillon with peaks of more than 2000m are all nearby and the views of these mountains from Alto Campoo are stunning.

Skiing at a glance

23 pistes; 9 red, 10 blue, 4 green

28km downhill pistes

5 chair lifts, 7 ski tows

skiing above 2000m with reliable snow and snow canons to increase snow available on some pistes.

There is a road and a chair lift which go to the summit of the Tres Mares mountain and from here there are stunning views of the surrounding Picos de Europa. The Pico Tres Mares is the confluent of two mountain ranges, the Cordel and the Hijar.

The ski station has been awarded a certificate of quality guaranteeing the level of service and customer satisfaction.

Alto Campoo is also a good destination outside of winter for hiking and there are various trails up the Cordel and Hijar mountain ranges.

Places to visit nearby

The source of the River Ebro, one of the longest rivers in Spain, is nearby and is a popular beauty spot when the snow has melted. The source can be fund at Fontibre.

Above Alto Campoo is the Pico de Tres Mares, the Peak of Three Seas, so called because a river runs from here to each of the neigbouring seas; the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Bay of Biscay.

Visit the nearby Saja-Besaya Natural Park with lots of trails through its forests which are mostly beech forests.

To the east visit the attractive town of Reinosa with its stone-built houses.

Barcena Mayor is the oldest village in Cantabria and is considered to be one of the most beautiful in Spain. It is worth a trip out from the ski resort if you get the chance.

If you are in the area in summer Santillana-del-Mar is a lovely seaside town and is a good base for visiting the countryside and caves of the area.

The main cave is the wonderful UNESCO listed Altamira cave with some of the best cave art in the world.

You can find more local travel ideas in the Asturias and Cantabria guide.

Map of Alto Campoo and places to visit

Alto Campoo places to visit

Barcena Mayor

Barcena Mayor is a picturesque village with lots of the typically balconied houses of the region. Situated in the Cabuerniga Valley.

Barcena Mayor guide

Puente Viesgo

Puente Viesgo is a lovely village in a beautiful setting and has some excellent caves full of stalagtites, stalagmites and lots of prehistoric paintings.

Puente Viesgo guide