The river Mera, scarcely 30 km long, reaches its final beauty in the formation of the Ría de Ortigueira. It is joined by other smaller riverbeds that flow into this wide flooded valley and form an aquatic maze where the tides disport themselves. This is one of the largest mudflats in Galicia. The entry of the sea permits cautious navigation into the town’s port, whose natural architecture is complemented by the modernist buildings of the town centre.
All the coastal routes go to the beach of Morouzos. Three kilometres of sands which, on one side, have their own dunes held in check nowadays by a pine grove and extending in a sandy bar behind which shelters the Ladrido cove, which is in fact another small estuary formed by the mouth of the river Baleo.
The whole is closed up at a short distance from the coast by the Island of San Vicente, witness to all that enters and leaves by the sea channels, principally many different bird species which inhabit the mudflats and bulrushes in the winter.
The natural space is also increased by the river ecosystems of the whole river Mera right to the source on the mountain range of A Faladoira. The closeness of the mountains to the coast is another of its attractions, along with the zone’s rich cultural heritage.
Within this space the ZEPA “Ría de Ortigueira y Ladrido” is a perfect location for bird-watching.