PR-G 4 CAMIÑO REAL DE SAN PEDRO DE ROCAS
Hiking
Location
Esgos - Ourense
Coordinates:
42º 19' 39.2" N - 7º 41' 43.8" W
Description
The route runs along a road that conserves its side walls and pavestones where you can still see the tracks worn down by the carts that used to travel along it. This "Camiño Real" (drovers' road) was a strategic axis as a communication route towards the lands of Aguiar and Ourense.
We should highlight the Meiroá ánimas (shrine), but particularly the Monastery of San Pedro de Rocas, a historical-artistic monument foun-ded in the year 573.
The monastery gives impressive views over the Rocas Manor and a huge conifer forest that climbs uphill towards the rocky peaks that give it its name (Rocas), brought about by geological agents acting upon this area.
We should highlight the Meiroá ánimas (shrine), but particularly the Monastery of San Pedro de Rocas, a historical-artistic monument foun-ded in the year 573.
The monastery gives impressive views over the Rocas Manor and a huge conifer forest that climbs uphill towards the rocky peaks that give it its name (Rocas), brought about by geological agents acting upon this area.
Access
Leave Ourense via the OU-536 and stop in Esgos, about 16 Km from the provincial capital.
A plus
The monastery’s Pre-Romanesque building is
remarkable, both on account of the beauty of its
location and integration in the natural setting
and because of its constructive originality. 13thcentury
man knew how to benefit from natural
forms sculpted by erosion without destroying
them; rock and architecture give shape to three
chapels with a floor burrowed by numerous
anthropomorphic tombs. The bell-tower stands
directly on a large outcrop. This monastery,
founded in the 6th century by ascetics, reminds
us that we are in the A Ribeira Sacra.
The petos de ánimas (shrines to hold ex-votos)
such as the one in Meiroá, are small stone
constructions, very frequent in Galicia, bearing
witness to a deeply-rooted cult of the dead
and devotion to souls. Located at roadsides
or crossroads, they vary in design. The petos
hold religious imagery (mainly scenes from
purgatory) with a money-box for making
offerings and giving charity for the souls of
deceased loved ones.
Longitude
9 km.
Point of Departure / Arrival
Esgos
Route
Esgos, Meiroá, San Pedro de Rocas, Quinta do Monte and Esgos.
Difficulty
Low
Duration
3 hours.
Equipment
Comfortable footwear that grips rock, as the pathway can get slippery in rain.
Services
Food in Esgos
M.I.D.E.
Effort M.I.D.E.:
Itinerary M.I.D.E.:
Displacement M.I.D.E.:
Enviroment M.I.D.E.:
Bicycle access
Totally suitable
Horse access
Totally suitable
cartography I.G.N. (1:25:000)
Nº 226-I Esgos y 188-III Nogueira de Ramuín.
Further information
Tourist Information Office
Monasterio de San Pedro de Rocas.
32720 Esgos.
Tel.: 988 361 368
Fax: 988 290 006
e.mail: esgos@concelloesgos.com
www.concelloesgos.com
Monasterio de San Pedro de Rocas.
32720 Esgos.
Tel.: 988 361 368
Fax: 988 290 006
e.mail: esgos@concelloesgos.com
www.concelloesgos.com
Altitudinal profile
Minimum height above sea level: 572 m.
Maximum height above sea level: 816 m.
Cumulative elevation loss: 315 m.
Cumulative elevation gain: 328 m.
Kind of route
Small travel
Tipificación
Ethnography
Traditional architecture
Map
Initial pickup date: 01/08/2019
