A Ribeira Sacra encompasses the lands bathed by the Sil and Miño rivers in the interior of Galicia where the two rivers meet. In the last kilometres before it flows into the Miño, near the village of Os Peares, the Sil flows along the border between the provinces of Lugo and Ourense, creating a deep canyon. This impressive and unusual landscape is a defining feature of this territory.
In these areas, which are at times bucolic and at others rugged, monks and hermits settled at the dawn of Christianity to practice an ascetic life. Over time, these settlements gave rise to flourishing monasteries that spread art, culture, and material progress throughout Galicia. Hence the name Ribeira Sacra, which has been documented since the 12th century, although it might be a corruption of "rovoyra sacrata" (sacred oak grove) as noted in the foundational document of Montederramo granted in Allariz in 1124.