Turismo de Galicia

The Outeiro de Cela Forest Park is part of the O Corgo tourist - sports complex, where one of the Centro BTT Serra do Xurés Reception Points is located. A natural recreational area of almost 40 hectares with a very simple trail, without hardly any accumulated slopes, and which, along its almost 6 kilometre stretch, lets you approach the banks of the As Conchas reservoir, and see the village of O Rañadoiro.

We recommend going to the highest point of O Noval, a small hill very near the location of the reception point of this route; it can be reached from several tracks that are signed. From here, you can enjoy the beautiful panoramic view of the reservoir and the archaeological remains of the military Aquis Querquennis Roman camp, in the neighbouring municipality of Bande.
The O Corgo complex has a camping site and an extensive leisure area for enjoying this privileged environment. Outstanding nautical activities such as kayaks and sailing, as well as the possibility of taking part in organized hiking routes or practicing rock climbing at the outdoor rockodrome.

From the actual parking area of the Reception Point, you can cycle along the two kilometres separating it from the San Pedro Rectory, nowadays used as accommodation as part of the Rural Tourism network, from where the “Travesía do Xurés” route 2 leaves.

The route starts from the former San Pedro Rectory in Muíños, which has been converted today into Rural Tourism accommodation. Going up, it leads us to the village of O Agrelo, which we will cross in order to reach Picós, through an area of well-preserved autochthonous forest. Follow the signposts on the PR-G Torrente-Salgueiro footpath, belonging to the network of Park routes, until reaching the hermitage of A Clamadoira, from where you can contemplate the beautiful panoramic view of the river Limia valley. Magnificent centenary oak trees surround the little 18th century church. The next compulsory stop is the village of Prado de Limia, where we can enjoy the typical popular architecture of O Xurés, including its renovated communal oven, as well as of the church of San Salvador.

We cross the river Salas over a stone bridge leading to a recreational area with several mills, some are still working. We go down a track that is in good condition towards Albite, a small cattle village. After a very technical rise and descent, we come to the parish of A Cela, where its houses and stables fuse with the huge granite bolos that make singular architecture. Downstream from A Cela, there is the spectacular A Poza da Seima waterfall. Cross the river Salas via the wooden bridge and start fastidiously carrying your bicycle for approximately 15 minutes until reaching the dirt track that goes towards Reparade, where we join the “Vía Nova” Route 6, coming from Lobios.

Leaving Reparade, again the footpath leads us upwards towards the hermitage of A Clamadoira. The return journey towards the San Pedro Rectory is across a narrow path that ends at the Mugueimes road, just a few metres away from the end of this trail.

This pleasant bicycle ride starts from the Reception Point located at the Aviva Mountain Centre, in the nucleus of As Maus de Salas. It lets us go back to the Bronze Age with a clear playful - interpretive character of the archaeological patrimony to be found around this Nature Reserve.

During our itinerary, we will share some sections of the “Picos de Fontefría” Route 4 and the “Serra do Pisco” Route 5.

Before crossing the dam of the Salas reservoir, we fi nd the Casiña da Moura and, just after crossing it, the Casola do Foxo, located in a small natural viewing-point that coincides with the existing link with Route 4. The two most important dolmens of A Baixa Limia are here, dating back to the Third Millennium B.C. and displaced from their original siting due to building the reservoir.

After pedalling along a track that borders the reservoir, where you can see several very singular rocky formations, we reach the bridge that joins Guntumil to As Maus de Salas. At this point of the trail, you can choose to connect to Route 5 that goes to the O Pisco refuge or cross the bridge to continue on our archaeological itinerary and visit other examples of the height of megalithism in this territory: the necropolis of Outeiro de Cavaladre, formed by two mámoas (megalithic tombs) where the remains of arrow tips and ceramic containers were found.
We go back to the Reception Point, wandering along the narrow streets of As Maus de Salas, where we can still fi nd remains of the chapel of Santa Baia.

We are undoubtedly before one of the most spectacular and demanding routes. With a total of 32,4 kilometres and almost 1,700 metres of accumulated ascent, this is a real challenge for the most experienced cyclists.

From the Reception Point of As Maus de Salas, after crossing the reservoir dam, on our left we leave the dolmen known as Casola do Foxo and we turn to our right towards a wide dirt track.
Over a long ascent, the route starts to gradually take us through the typical granite landscape and semi-desert of O Xurés until reaching the area known as Outeiro do Home Dereito, at an altitude of 1,115 m.

The trail continues to the village of O Salgueiro, located at the foot of Picos de Fontefría, abandoned by its inhabitants halfway through the 19th century due to the diffi culty of establishing adequate access routes. All the buildings and bordering areas currently belong to the Xunta de Galicia, that, in collaboration with the Baixa Limia-Serra do Xurés Nature Reserve, carry out different environmental management programmes and their gradual reconstruction. Wild goat recovery programmes have been started in the surroundings.

Leaving O Salgueiro and after an intense ascent, we come to “Carballeira da Barxa”, an area of very well preserved autochthonous forest and an Integral Reserve of this protected area.
Before joining the “Megalithic” Route again and returning to As Maus de Salas, the last part of the trail goes through the highest areas of Serra do Xurés, between crags and granite boulders that give the landscape an arid look but one of great natural value.

ruta MEGALÍTICA

start point	Centro de Montaña Aviva. As Maus de Salas 41ª56´10.53”N / 007º55´28.59”W		max. height	altitude difference (+)	distance	connection/s
			1161 m	1106 m	32,4 km	4,5
fi nish point	Centro de Montaña Aviva. As Maus de Salas 41ª56´10.53”N / 007º55´28.59”W		min. height	altitude difference (-)	time	difficulty
			766 m	-1106 m	4h

In order to accede to the village of O Salgueiro, owned by The Galicia Goverment, visitors must get in touch with the Natural Park via phone (988 788 755/ 988 788 761, from 10.00 to 14.00 and from 16.00 to 18.00 in winter - 16 September to 14 March- and 10.00 to 14.00 and from 16.00 to 20.00 in summer - 15 March to 15 September), fax (988 788 762) or by e-mail (parque.natural. xures@xunta.es), providing the following data:

• Responsible person (name and surname, Identity Card, postal address, phone number, e-mail address and a declaration stating that he knows and accepts the rules for acceding the village)
• Date of visit
• Number of participants

The access to the village will be on foot or by bicycle from 10:00 to 20:00 between the months of May to October and from 10:00 to 18:00 the rest of the year.

This shares the same trail as the “Megalithic” Route 3, until reaching the bridge that crosses the Salas reservoir, where we will continue on the right towards the village of Guntumil.
We leave this small village of hardly 150 inhabitants behind to start a long uphill climb along a broad track in perfect conditions that, little by little, gains height until reaching the Refugio do Pisco, at an altitude of 1,395 metres. From here, there is a good opportunity to look at the extensive panoramic view of the Salas valley.

We start the descent towards Portela de Pitões, on the border between Galicia and Portugal, indicated by a framework of stone of the frontier limit between the two countries, a territory dominated by old smugglers and which today offers the spectacular panoramic view of the Cross-border Park Gerês-Xurés, covering almost 90,000 hectares of protected territory in both countries.

We reach the village of Requiás, where we suggest you visit its communal oven, before returning to the reservoir bridge, crossing over it towards As Maus de Salas and share the last few kilometres along the same trail as Routes 3 and 4.

The Vía Nova, constructed under the mandate of the emperor Augustus in the 1st century A.D., played a fundamental role in connecting Galicia, joining Bracara Augusta (Braga) with Asturica Augusta (Astorga). The trail leaves from the place known as Portela do Home, the former border crossing with Portugal. Using the earlier itinerary of the Vía Nova, today recovered through the state Natural Ways programme, we begin to descend almost 7 kilometres across the valley of the river Caldo, where we can see several groups of miliarios (former Roman kilometric milestone system represented by stone markers).

During the last part of this descent, we recommend that you visit the longest waterfall in Galicia, the Corga da Fecha, spectacular in the winter months, as well as the Roman remains of what is known as Aquis Originis, a Roman mansion where we can see a series of arches belonging to its thermal area.

We reach the place known as Riocaldo, perfect for stopping for a while and viewing the free area of outdoor baths in the surroundings of the Balneario de Lobios.

The trail continues towards the village of Vilameá, where a detour to the right indicates access through a steep climb to the hermitage of Nosa Señora do Xurés. From here, we can enjoy the impressive panoramic view of Sierra de Santa Eufemia and the valley of the river Caldo. On leaving this village, we meet twelve mills restored on the banks of the river Vilaméa. In Lobios , we suggest you visit the church, as well as the Nature Reserve Interpretation Centre.

From this point, we recommend a last stop at the hermitage of A Clamadoira, before reaching the end of the trail at the San Pedro Rectory in Muíños.

From the parking area which is located at the entrance to the town of Lobios, we head towards the wells near to the village of A Cela. This is a route which entails a challenge for the cyclist due to continually going uphill and downhill but this is compensated for by the attractive environment. It crosses small towns such as Gustomeao, San Paio, O Puxedo and A Vila, making it possible to discover really charming places such as Chao de Requeixo, an area of immense natural value, and the Church of San Miguel and the chapel of the Virxe da Reguenga, examples of the religious architecture of the zone.

Half way along the route, we reach a diversion which takes us towards the River Mao (a tributary of the River Salas), where we can visit several of the natural wells which are placed in such a way that they form small waterfalls where we can enjoy a privileged area. There is a possibility to continue going up the road until you reach the village of A Cela and continue by Route 2 “Travesía do Xurés” which enables you to finalise this route at the Rectoral de San Pedro in Muíños. If you choose to return to the “Circular de Lobios” route, we will address the second half of the more favourable itinerary accompanied by the River Cabaleiro which we will cross by a small bridge at A Portaxe before returning to the centre of Lobios.

This route starts by going south from the centre of Lobios towards “Minas das Sombras”, on the way discovering an environment which is one hundred per cent natural and with a demanding orography. The first part of the route goes uphill until it reaches the old mining exploitation and the final stage coincides with a path which will be obligatory to take carrying the bicycle in order to preserve the state of the path. We return to the main track, where the ascent is more gradual and lave a path on our right which leads to the Corga da Fecha, one of the most representative waterfalls of the Baixa Limia-Serra do Xurés Natural Park. In addition, we will have the opportunity to see other small waterfalls such as the Corga do Curro, the Corga do Medeiro, the Corga da Candela and the Corga da Revolta, among others.

We reach the frontier with Portugal arriving at Portela do Home, from where we begin a descent to the starting point sharing the first kilometres of Route 6 “Via Nova” until we return to Lobios.

From the Lobios-Caldaria Spa, this route starts going north towards the Alto de Santa Eufemia. After leaving the area of the river Caldo travelling along some metres of the OU-312, we divert towards Bubaces and Padrendo, where it is possible to visit the chapel of Santa Catarina and view the singularity of a dovecote. Leaving behind Padrendo we continue along the route which leads towards Chan de Ventoselo by an uphill track in a very good state which enables us to enjoy a spectacular panoramic view with the outstanding Corga da Fecha in the background.

For those who wish to take part in a simpler version, halfway up this ascent a deviation is signposted on the left which goes towards Torneiros and makes it possible to return by an easier track to travel to the Lobios-Caldaria Spa. Those who choose the longer version of the route will continue the ascent until they reach a diversion on the right towards the Alto de Santa Eufemia from where it is possible to view part of the extension of the Baixa Limia-Serra do Xurés Natural Park. Due to reasons concerning the preservation of the natural environment where we are located, the 2.5 kilometres which separate the main track from the heights must be travelled carrying our bicycles.

From this point, the route continues towards the frontier with Portugal and diverts to the left until it connects with Route 6 “Via Nova” where we can visit a group of milestones (the ancient system for marking miles in the Roman epoch represented by stone markers), divert towards the Corga da Fecha or visit the remains of a Roman mansion used as a thermal area and known as Aquis Originis, before returning to the spa.