The chestnut bank

The river Navea flows into the Bibei shortly before it, in its turn, flows into the Sil, which later flows into the Miño. A whole cannon of waters which connects the Ourense Macizo Central with the biggest river system of the northwest peninsula: the Miño-Sil.

All these rivers carved natural corridors with a made-to-measure landscape. The Navea valley is the most untouched. It is outstanding for the predominance of arboreal vegetation, like the great forest of San Xoán de Río on one side of the river and one of the famous chestnut groves of the region of Trives on the other. There are historical chestnut trees and “sequeiros”, one story constructions used to dry the chestnuts. Some are being restored.

At the entrance to the protected space one of its main attractions can be found: the Navea bridge, built in the Middle Ages on the remains of the old Roman bridge.