The Camino de Invierno follows the course of the Sil, passes through Quiroga into Galicia, and continues from Quiroga towards Monforte de Lemos. Within the municipality of Quiroga, it runs for 21.5 kilometres. This clearly defines the local section, while the route continues beyond Quiroga.
Routes with different highlights
The Ruta de las Cascadas offers a different natural highlight: on a route from Quiroga to Vieiros, it links five waterfalls. The number of waterfalls gives the route a clear theme; by contrast, the Camino de Invierno focuses on the course of the Sil and the route’s continuation towards Monforte de Lemos. This makes it easy to distinguish the two routes by their different highlights.
A landscape shaped by the Ice Age
In the northern part of the municipality of Quiroga lie the A Seara and Vieiros valleys, in the heart of the Serra do Courel. They preserve characteristic features of a glacial landscape: cirques, rocky thresholds and moraine ridges. These features give the valleys a distinctive geological character. Those interested in how landforms develop will find a different subject here from the routes: the focus is not on a trail or a single destination, but on the preserved forms of the glacial landscape.
Geology and everyday history in the museum
The Museo Geológico de Quiroga is Galicia’s first museum devoted entirely to interpreting its geological heritage. Across five galleries, it presents the region’s geology and palaeontology, Quaternary glaciation, early human settlement, and historic and more recent mining. Its geological focus therefore extends beyond rocks and landscapes to include the history of human presence and mining in the region.
The Museo Etnográfico de Quiroga houses just over 1,000 collected objects. The collection covers typical products of the Montañas do Courel Geopark, important materials, agriculture, livestock farming and traditional domestic life. Compared with the geological museum, the focus here shifts to materials, work and everyday life. The two museums thus offer different perspectives: one explores geological heritage, while the other presents the products and aspects of life represented in the ethnographic collection.
The Bendilló oil mill
The Bendilló oil mill is housed in a fully restored building made of slate masonry, with a single-pitched roof. Its machinery includes a mill basin, a pressing beam and decanters. The building and machinery offer two concrete aspects of the mill: its architectural form and its equipment. Along the Ruta del Oro y del Aceite, you can see how traditions live on at the Bendilló oil mill. This links the subject of oil to a named mill and its components, rather than leaving it abstract.
A September pilgrimage
A pilgrimage known throughout the region takes place at the Iglesia Parroquial de A Ermida on 8 and 9 September. The statue of the Virgen de los Remedios is accompanied in procession by two giant figures called «pampórnigas». The set dates and procession give the tradition a clear temporal and cultural reference point. If you want to choose your travel dates around a specific religious event, 8 and 9 September are the key dates.
Discover more destinations: Fonte De Cervos, Coence, Bispo, Friol, San Fiz, Incio, Ferreira, Doade
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