The long underground tour of Pozo Sotón lasts between 4 and 5 hours, covers 5 km and goes down to the tenth level, between 386 and 556 metres deep; it costs 48 euros and the minimum age is 16. Book on pozosoton.es. The short tour is listed as temporarily out of service (checked in October 2026).
Anyone searching for the long Pozo Sotón tour wants to know three things: what happens down there, what it costs and whether they will be allowed to go down. This is what the pit's official website says, checked in October 2026, including a notice that changes plans: the short underground tour is listed as «temporarily out of service».
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What you can do at Sotón today
Pozo Sotón, between El Entrego and Sotrondio in San Martín del Rey Aurelio, is a coal mine owned by HUNOSA, the state mining company. It is a listed Bien de Interés Cultural in the Monument category, has more than 140 kilometres of galleries and opened to the public in 2015, according to its website.
There are four options: the long underground tour, the short underground tour, a guided surface tour and the Centre for Mining Experiences and Memory, housed in the old pithead baths. Worth knowing before you plan: in October 2026 the short tour's page is marked «temporarily out of service». Today, if you want to go underground, it is the long tour.
The long tour, top to bottom
You go down in the cage 386.25 metres to the eighth level. From there you reach the ninth through the La Jota shaft; because it is physically demanding, the website offers an easier alternative route.
Then you walk about two kilometres of gallery northwards to the La Lozana area, where you see a vertical working with a cutting machine and a gallery being driven. Nearby is a sublevel working, and an inclined plane takes you down to the tenth level, with its coal hopper and a further incline that is completely flooded. The whole underground route lies between 386 and 556 metres deep.
The long tour's page says: between 4 and 5 hours, 5 km there and back underground, arrival at the pit by 8:20 and 48 euros. The general tours page says five to six hours, so set aside the whole morning. Arrive after the check-in time and you lose the visit with no refund. Groups of 10 or more get a 10% discount.
The short tour, when it returns
According to its page, it goes down in the staff cage to the eighth level, 386.25 metres down, drops to the ninth through La Jota, and there you can drill or ride a staff train. It lasts 2 and a half hours, covers 2.5 km, starts at 9:00 and costs 30 euros. Before counting on it, check whether the website has removed the out-of-service notice.
Who may go down and who may not
The minimum age is 16, and under-18s need a form signed by whoever has parental authority. The underground is not adapted for reduced mobility. HUNOSA lists contraindications, among them heart disease, asthma or chronic bronchitis, claustrophobia, epilepsy, vertigo, insulin-dependent diabetes, uncontrolled high blood pressure and pregnancy. It also reserves the right to refuse anyone it judges does not meet the requirements.
Below ground it is dark, noisy, damp, hot and dusty, which is why contact lenses are discouraged. No electronic devices of any kind (mobile, camera, battery watch), no food and no smoking. You must bring the forms the website publishes in its authorisations section, including the health declaration, already filled in; without them you do not go down.
What they give you and what to bring
Included are overalls, safety boots, helmet, gloves, mask, lamp and the self-rescuer, an emergency breathing set, plus changing rooms, showers and towels. There is a safety briefing before you go in. What you do need to bring: two changes of underwear, because the pair you wear below is no use for the rest of the day, shower shoes and a wash bag. If you forget the underwear, HUNOSA will lend some from the miners' changing room, which is men's only.
Without going down: the surface tour and the museum
The surface tour lasts about an hour and a half, with check-in at 12:30. With helmet, lamp, gloves and mask you go through the lamp room, the landing, the winding house and six teaching galleries where a blast is simulated and a cutting machine runs. It costs 7 € for over-16s and 4 € for ages 5 to 16, and is free for under-5s. It is outdoors and on uneven ground: wear comfortable shoes.
The Centre opens Tuesday to Thursday from 10:00 to 14:00 and 16:00 to 18:30, and Friday to Sunday from 10:00 to 14:00 and 16:00 to 20:00; closed on Mondays. Guided tours run at 12:00 and 16:00. Tickets are 3.50 € for adults, 2.50 € for children and 8 € for a family of two adults and two children. Its motto is «you can touch»: you even push a mine wagon weighing almost a tonne.
How to book
Tours are booked through the «Reservar» button on pozosoton.es, where you choose the experience and the date. By phone they answer on 630 119 642, Tuesday to Friday from 8:00 to 14:00, which is also where changes and cancellations are handled under the policy the website publishes. On Tuesdays that are not public holidays, at 9:30, there is also a tour of the listed heritage elements, bookable by phone only.
Getting there
The official address is Sotón, Linares, San Martín del Rey Aurelio, and the website gives the GPS coordinates 43.2812147, -5.6229387. By train, the C-5 line of Cercanías Asturias, between Gijón and Laviana, stops at El Entrego-La Oscura, Carrocera, San Martín and Sotrondio; the last stretch to the pit is on foot or by taxi, so check it on the map beforehand. For the long tour, with check-in at 8:20, make sure the first train gets you there in time.
If you are torn between going down here or visiting the museum in El Entrego, the comparison is in Pozo Sotón or MUMI?.
Checked
Everything above was checked on 17 October 2026 on the pit's official website (home, underground tour, short and long tour pages, surface tour, museum and documents) and, for the C-5 line of Cercanías Asturias, on Wikipedia. Prices and times change: confirm them on pozosoton.es before you go.
Quick questions
How much does it cost to visit Pozo Sotón?
According to its website, in October 2026: the long tour, 48 euros; the short one, 30 euros, now out of service; the surface tour, 7 € for over-16s and 4 € for ages 5 to 16; the museum, 3.50 € per adult. Groups of 10 or more get a 10% discount underground.
Can children go down the Pozo Sotón mine?
Not underground: the minimum age is 16 and under-18s need a signed form. The surface tour does take children and is free for under-5s.
What should I bring for the underground tour?
Two changes of underwear, shower shoes, a wash bag and the website's forms filled in. HUNOSA provides overalls, boots, helmet, gloves, mask, lamp, self-rescuer, showers and towels. No mobile, camera or battery watch below ground.