The eucalyptus tree came to Europe and to Galicia in the 19th century when a Galician monk brought some seeds from the faraway land of Australia where he had been a missionary. The species adapted so well to the local climate that it spread rapidly throughout the territory.
In the souto da Retorta – also known as the eucalyptus grove of Chavín – near the town of Viveiro, we can find some of the tallest and widest eucalyptus trees on the continent, such as the famous avó or “grandfather” tree planted in around 1880, some 67 m tall and 10.5 m in circumference. On our walk through this forest of giants we can admire the colossal size of these grandfather eucalyptus and have some fun forming chains around their huge trunks with our arms linked.
| Starting point | Route type | Km | Estimated time required | Terrain difficulty | Orientation difficulty |
| Calvoso (Viveiro) | Linear | 2 (there and back) | 1 h. | Low | Medium |
| PROFILE: All walkers | |||||
Everything is in place to make your visit to this Natural Monument, the Souto da Retorta or Eucalyptus grove of Chavín, easier. It is a simple route that winds between the River Landro and the dam’s drainage channel, situated upstream.
