On the last Sunday of August, Arenas de Cabrales holds the Certamen del Queso de Cabrales, the biggest event of the year in the municipality and one of Asturias's officially recognised festivals of tourist interest. It is the day the whole village organises itself around one thing: the cheese that bears its name.
If you are thinking of coming one year, here is what exactly is celebrated, how the auction that made it famous works, and how to plan the day without stress.
What the Certamen is, in one sentence
It is a cheese competition that turned into a festival. Producers from the district present their wheels to a jury, the best of the season is chosen, and that wheel is auctioned the same day. Around that core there is a traditional market, tastings, folk music and dance, and a full day in the street that draws thousands of visitors.
The first edition was held in 1968, driven by local producers looking to sell their cheese beyond the valley, taking as a model the cheese fair that Cangas de Onís had been running since the 1940s.
When it takes place
Always on the last Sunday of August. That is the rule worth noting, because the exact date changes every year: the 54th edition fell on 30 August 2026, and the next one lands on 29 August 2027.
The preceding days also bring the Semana Cultural (Cultural Week), with concerts, talks, cooking demonstrations and activities split between Arenas and Carreña. It usually starts a week before the main day, so if the dates work out you may find a programme running all week, not just on the Sunday.
The auction: the moment everyone waits for
The high point of the day is the auction of the winning cheese, and it is also why the Certamen makes the national press every year.
In 2026 the winning wheel sold for 37,500 euros, the highest price ever paid for a cheese at auction. It was bought by the Gijón restaurant La Montera Picona, which shares it with three Madrid cider houses that also bid. The cheese came from the Ángel Díaz Herrero dairy, in Tielve — a village within the municipality itself — which took its third consecutive win with a wheel of just over two kilos and nine months of maturing in a cave. Fourteen producers entered that year.
The figure beat by five hundred euros the 37,000 paid by Llagar de Colloto the previous year, and keeps Cabrales in the Guinness World Records as the most expensive cheese ever sold at auction.
For perspective: in 2014 the winning bid was around 3,000 euros. In little over a decade the price has multiplied twelvefold. It is not a figure that reflects what cheese costs — an ordinary wedge still costs what it costs — but the symbolic value the winning wheel has acquired among restaurants and collectors.
Watching it live, with the village gathered round and the bidding climbing a thousand at a time, is one of those scenes you do not forget.
What else happens during the day
The Certamen is not only the auction. Through the day, Arenas usually offers:
- The display and judging of the competition, with the entered wheels on public view.
- Guided tastings in the Designation of Origin's tasting room, which in previous years required booking by phone in advance.
- A market of Asturian produce, with local dairies selling directly.
- The corri-corri, the traditional dance of Cabrales, alongside bagpipe bands and folk dance groups.
- Traditional games, including Asturian bowls.
- Cheese-making demonstrations in the traditional way.
Where the programme is published
The detailed programme — times for the auction, the tastings and the Cultural Week — is not published far in advance: it usually becomes known in the days immediately before. These are the two places it appears first:
- The news section of the DOP Queso Cabrales Regulatory Board, which publishes the full schedule each year.
- The website of Cabrales Town Council.
If you are staying with us those days, just ask and we will pass on the programme as soon as it is out.
How to plan the day
Arenas de Cabrales is a small village, and on the last Sunday of August it receives far more people than fit comfortably. A couple of things that help:
Arrive early. Parking in the centre fills up early and the AS-114 road backs up at the entrance to the village. The earlier you get there, the less time you spend looking for a space.
Walk in if you can. From El Ardinal you are a 9-minute walk from the centre of Arenas, so you can forget about the car for the whole day. That is the real advantage of sleeping nearby that weekend: you depend neither on parking nor on what time you decide to head back.
Expect a day outdoors. Much of the programme takes place in the open air. In August the valley can give you strong midday sun and an afternoon shower on the same day, so pack a cap and a light waterproof.
Book dinner in advance. Restaurants in Arenas fill up that Sunday. And if you would rather have a quiet alternative, buying a wedge at the market and eating it at the apartment — with spelt bread and cider — is hard to beat.
What to do with the rest of the weekend
If you come for the Certamen, the weekend sorts itself out without leaving the valley:
- The Cares Route, which starts at Poncebos, ten minutes from Arenas.
- Going up to Bulnes to see the Naranjo, the village with no road, reached by funicular or on foot up the Canal del Texu.
- The Lakes of Covadonga, with their summer access plan in force.
- Other walks from Cabrales for less ambitious days.
And if the Certamen leaves you wanting to understand the product better, the Cueva Exposición in Arenas lets you see inside a real maturing cave all year round.
In short
The last Sunday of August, in Arenas de Cabrales. A day of market stalls, folk tradition and cheese, with an auction that has been breaking its own record for years. It is the festival that best explains this valley in a single day, and it is a 9-minute walk from our apartments.
Want to know more before you come? Have a look at our article on Cabrales cheese and at the fiestas of Arenas through the year.
