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The peace of nature
The Aloia knows that it is attractive, set as it is in
an area touched by a benign climate and exuberant
nature. A green mountain which also has solid
roots set in the granite. Throughout its history it
has been put to defensive, religious, forestry and
recreational use. It was the first Natural Park in
Galicia, and here it is, in complicity with the river,
which, at its feet, begins to say its goodbyes before
giving itself up to the sea.
The hills of O Galiñeiro, which rises up as a small
hill range on the coast, starts from a height of less
than one hundred metres and ascends to 629
metres at the peak of San Xián. The hill dominates
the landscape, described as an observation point
over the Miño. All the streams that flow from the
Aloia seek the Miño valley in a short but rough
journey, an indication of their milling past.
The location of the Park in one of the most densely
populated areas of Galicia and the north of
Portugal provides it with great environmental
education possibilities. Thus, the house built by the
Tui forestry expert Rafael Areses in 1921 is now
used as a Visitors’ Centre.
On clear days the panoramic views from the Aloia
will not fail to please. This is an area closely linked
to open-air leisure activities, especially hill-walking.
It is included in the network of routes throughout
O Baixo Miño, which runs to here from the city of
Vigo.
Access
Turn off near Tui, on the local PO-340
Gondomar-Tui road.
The Ways of St. James
Portiguese Route
Situation
In Tui (Pontevedra).
Area
746.29 hectares.
Services
Accommodation: No, but it can be found in Tui.
Food: Yes.
Without missing
There is a permanent exhibition and extensive information about the Park in the Visitors’ Centre “Casa do Enxeñeiro
Areses”. The six routes which enable us to learn about the mountain start here. They connect five lookout points, as well
as many recreation areas and seven water mills which can be visited (the Tripes mills route and the Paredes mills route).
A total of ten kilometres to be covered, including a botanical trail with explanation panels, that illustrate the plant diversity
in the area and show how to identify the different species through games.
The most visited place and the centre of local folk traditions, is the chapel at the top of San Xián. The shrine, of Romanesque
origin, and the flight of steps to the saint’s fountain which was reconstructed in 18th century was a response to the ancient
Christianisation of the cult of the stones and other natural elements. The rituals speak about the part of the bed in which
it seems the saint slept and where the grass never grew, and about the water stone and the sun stone which were used
to predict the weather.
The oldest route on foot is that of the Alto dos Cubos castro, a fortified town of which a 1,250 metre long wall still survives,
called by the curious name of the Cyclops wall because it was made of large stones without mortar.
Singular nature
Rich vegetation. Smudges of indigenous forest,
mainly of deciduous species. Restocked with
pines and masses of exotic trees close to a
hundred years old, accompanied by the typical
fauna of the mountains. In this respect, the
Aloia represents a refuge from the pressures
around them for species like the rabbit, birds
of prey and amphibians.
Information and facilities
Centro de Interpretación de la Naturaleza ''Casa Forestal Enxeñeiro Areses"