In Carnota, one can live the magical and unusual experience...of feeling like one is on an endless beach.

Seven endless kilometres of sandy beaches in a perfect crescent shape. Carnota – which at low tide can reach up to one kilometre wide – is a natural world in another dimension.   

Overlooking the beach stand Zoomorphic cyclopean rocks of A Moa, the top of Monte Pindo, the sacred Olympus of the Celts which rises up to 627 m altitude. At its feet, in the small town of Ézaro, is another unique spectacle, the waterfall from the River Xallas that plunges into the sea from 40 metres above.

And in the far north, in the Marismas de Caldebarcos, one can see waterfowl such as cormorants, gannets, oystercatchers, curlews, herons, turnstones and also...the elusive otters.

A particular "Olympus"

Beaches, dunes and mudflats; cliffs, the Lobeiras islands and sea reserve; the river with the legendary Ézaro waterfall, the Celtic Olympus of O Pindo with its natural granite sculptures, a national Point of Geological Interest. All this makes up one of the most varied coastal spaces of the region, where nature borders on greatness.

The beach of Carnota is the most extensive in Galicia. The seven kilometre-long and half a kilometre-wide sands extending in dunes, are entered by a channel in the north through which the sea enters, creating a rich natural intertidal plain.

The fertility of this plain adjoining the mudflats is evidenced by the famous granaries of Carnota, the biggest grain and horticultural storage structures in Galicia.

The Pindo mountain rises up 627 metres just two kilometres from the sea. The ascent to the summit of A Moa takes about two hours and should be made with caution, especially on the downward path. The track is guarded by rocky figures in human form like the "warrior" and granite castles which put gravity and the imagination to the test.

Easier to reach is the place where the Xallas fell into the sea in the form of a waterfall before the damming of the river upstream. In the tourist season when the sluices are opened one can still admire the ferocity of one of Europe's most unique waterfalls. Because of all this, and based on the similarity of its name with the Greek Mount Pindhos, O Pindo is a special Celtic Olympus.

A pioneer initiative also exists on the coast of Carnota: this is a marine tourism enterprise for the revaluation of artisan fishing and the creation of a marine reserve, promoted by the Fishermen's Association of Lira itself.

Useful information

Location
Municipalities of Cee, Dumbría, Mazaricos and Carnota, in A Coruña.

Area
4,628.87 hectares, of which 438 hectares are sea water.

Acess
The AC-550 road, between Cee and Carnota

Services

  • Accommodation: Yes.
  • Food: Yes.

More information
Fishing Tourism (www.mardelira.net).

Facilities
Scenic Interpretation Centre (A Cabana-Lira).

Arriba