Cea Bread Festival

San Cristovo de Cea

This year there will be no Festa do Pan de Cea, but that town of Ourense does not renounce to the smell and taste of its famous delicacy to be the protagonist, as it is tradition, of the first weekend of the month of July. Coinciding with what should be the thirtieth edition of the festival, the Council and the Consello Regulador do Pan de Cea have opted to recover this year the Ruta dos Fornos, to be held on July 3. Participants will be able to pass through a total of 10 stalls (6 ovens and 4 squares) and at the same time get to know the rich ethnographic heritage of Cea. There will be musical entertainment during the route and a final concert by Javier Ojeda, the leader of the group Danza Invisible. In addition, during the morning Cea will host the twelfth edition of the Celtiberian Pipe Band Contest Memorial Muíño. For all the activities an anticovid protocol will be applied and in the case of the Ruta dos Fornos and the concert it is necessary to register in advance.

More information at https://www.rutadosfornos.es/web/

Cereixas Fair in Paiosaco

A Laracha

The first Sunday in July is the tastiest in the festive calendar of the town of Paiosaco, in the municipality of A Laracha in A Coruña. It is the usual place for a fortnightly fair where it is possible to find all kinds of farm produce and household items, but at this time of year it is cherries that become the star product of the Sunday market, attracting buyers from many other municipalities. This year the Council has limited the usual activities that enliven the morning fair, but in the evening there will be a concert by Xabier Díaz and the Adufeiras de Salitre. To attend the recital it will be necessary to register in advance through the form on the council’s website.

More information at https://www.alaracha.gal/

Lobster Festival

A Guarda

A Guarda’s Lobster and Seafood Festival should be thirty-one years old this summer. It is a celebration that since its inception has not failed to gather a multitude of diners in the marquee installed in the port area. As last year, the local authorities have decided this time to suspend the celebration, but the local restaurants will continue to offer their tasty proposals to those who visit the town. In addition, the Council has resumed the guided tours of the Santa Trega mountain, so gastronomy is not the only incentive to visit the southernmost town on the Galician coast.

More information at https://www.facebook.com/Turismo-A-Guarda-126223240790625/

Rapa das Bestas de Sabucedo

A Estrada

The first weekend in July is also the date on which one of the most important and unique ethnographic celebrations in Galicia takes place: the Rapa das Bestas of Sabucedo, declared of Galician tourist interest almost half a century ago and elevated in 2007 to a celebration of international interest. It is a centuries-old tradition in which all the local residents take part and which brings together hundreds of people from all over Galicia. Many of the latter actively participate by helping to bring down the horses and colts from the mountains located in the parish of the municipality of A Estrada (Pontevedra) which gives its name to the festival, although in the central part of the celebration (the shave and the branding, with electronic chips, of the animals inside the curro) they must be content to be mere spectators of the work of the aloitadores. This year, because of the covid and in order to find dates when the evolution of the pandemic is more favourable, the organisers have decided to postpone the celebration to the end of August (27th, 28th and 29th), so we will have to wait a little longer to be able to contemplate this spectacular ritual.

More information at https://www.facebook.com/RapaDasBestas/

Rapa das Bestas de Candaoso

Viveiro

Also in Viveiro they keep alive the ancestral tradition of the rapa, gathering once a year the horses that are bred in freedom to cut their manes and mark them with the corresponding microchips. The curro located in Candaoso is the scene of this rite, which became a festival just over half a century ago, but which for the second consecutive year has been suspended due to the covid. We will have to wait until 2022 to see the encounter between men and horses again, although taking a walk around the Curro, trying to spot the horses in the nearby hills and enjoying the views of the estuary is a good alternative at any time of the year.

More information at https://www.facebook.com/rapadasbestas.viveiro.1

Viveiro

This town in the Lugo region of A Mariña boasts a Holy Week that has been declared a festival of international tourist interest and stands out, among other reasons, for the artistic value of its images, some of which are articulated. The “Paso” of the Supper, created at the beginning of the 19th century by a craftsman using local sailors as models to shape the figures of the Apostles, is more than two hundred years old. The processions of the Last Supper, The Arrest, The Encounter and The Holy Burial are some of the most emotional and colourful of its usual calendar. This year it will not be possible to enjoy them in the street to avoid crowds, but worship will continue in the churches and exhibitions and virtual activities will be organised.

More information at http://semanasantaviveiro.com/

Ferrol

Since 2014, Easter Week in Ferrol has also been recognised as a festival of international tourist interest. From Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, the five brotherhoods of the city organise a total of 24 processions that fill the streets of Ferrol with fervour and colour. The main events take place between the neighbourhoods of Esteiro and A Magdalena on Wednesday, Thursday and Good Friday. This year, these processions will be replaced by alternative events, which will take place in the headquarters of each Easter brotherhood and in the Angustias, Amboage and Contralmirante Azarola Gresillón squares, respecting the sanitary measures and the capacity restrictions established by the authorities.

More information at http://www.semanasantaferrol.org/

Santiago de Compostela

The streets of the city of the Apostle are the unbeatable setting for the development of a Holy Week of regional tourist interest that has undergone an intense revitalisation in recent years, as demonstrated by the fact that Compostela now has more than a dozen brotherhoods. Its members are responsible for organising the 17 processions which recreate the main episodes of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The events planned for this occasion will take place between 26 March and 11 April, although the processions will also be dispensed with in order to avoid the health risks associated with crowds of people. Instead, the activities organised by the confraternities will be moved to their own headquarters and other enclosed spaces where capacity can be controlled and health measures can be complied with.

More information at https://www.semanasantasantiago.es/es/inicio/

Fisterra

The traditional festivities of Easter Week in Fisterra, also declared a festivity of Galician tourist interest, add a singular recreation in this town of the Costa da Morte that year after year congregates thousands of people, becoming the main event of its extensive programme. It takes place on Easter Sunday and the locals themselves are responsible for bringing to life the protagonists of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. As last year, the promoters of the activities have had to cancel the processions and the aforementioned representation, but the liturgical acts planned inside the parish church of Santa María das Areas are maintained, and to avoid that the capacity limitations prevent the faithful and the curious from taking part, the Xunta de Confrarías da Semana Santa de Fisterra will broadcast them live through its space on Facebook.

More information at https://www.facebook.com/semanasanta.fisterra/

Lugo

The celebration of alternative activities centred on the processions that should take place every day is the idea on which those in charge of the board of brotherhoods of Lugo are working to keep Holy Week alive in the city of the wall, a festival also of regional interest. Thus, the neighbours will not be able to see the procession of the Holy Sacrament (a singular event linked to the privilege that the Cathedral enjoys to exhibit it permanently) nor the colourful encounter between Jesus Christ and the Virgin, but they will be able to join, with the consequent capacity limitations, the events that will be organised on special days such as Palm Sunday, and Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. 

More information at http://www.semanasantadelugo.com/es/noticias

Mondoñedo

The processions that take place from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday make Holy Week one of the main festivities in the Mondoñedo calendar and have led to it also being considered a festival of tourist interest in Galicia. Its origins date back to at least the 16th century, and although on this occasion the locals will not be able to take to the streets to attend these acts of great fervour and solemnity, they will be able to go to the monumental cathedral to follow the different masses planned throughout this festive cycle. 

More information at https://www.facebook.com/turismomondonedo

Betanzos

Declared of regional tourist interest in 2017, the Holy Week of Betanzos stands out especially for the processions of Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, being the one popularly known as Os Caladiños the most famous of them all. For the second consecutive year, the streets will not be the scene of the traditional route of the “pasos” and the brotherhoods and Nazarenes, but the liturgical acts will keep their spirit alive and the social networks will contribute to their promotion as it happened a year ago, when they were broadcast through the YouTube channel of the Pastoral Unit of Betanzos.

More information at https://www.facebook.com/semanasantabetanzos

Cangas

The artistic value of its “pasos”, some of them articulated to give more realism to the celebration, its antiquity and its roots make the Holy Week of Cangas one of the most outstanding in the province of Pontevedra and also allowed it to be declared of tourist interest in Galicia. Some of its brotherhoods were founded three centuries ago and their work has contributed to the fact that processions such as the Holy Supper, the Denial of St. Peter or the Holy Meeting attract large crowds. None of them will go out this year, but some liturgical acts are maintained and brotherhoods such as the Hermandad de los Dolores y la Soledad encourage residents to decorate their balconies with commemorative flags.

More information at https://cangas.gal/es/areas/turismo/fiestas-y-festivales/semana-santa

Paradela (Meis)

The involvement of the entire parish of Paradela, in the municipality of Meis, Pontevedra, has made its Easter Week one of the most outstanding in Galicia and therefore also of regional tourist interest. The locals themselves become actors for a few days to give life to the main characters of the central episodes of the biblical story: the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, the arrest of Christ, the trial, the Stations of the Cross…. All of these are re-enactments which, like a year ago, will fall out of the programme of activities on this occasion due to the covid restrictions, although the brotherhood will probably once again take advantage of social networks to organise a Virtual Holy Week.

More information at http://bit.ly/SemanaSantaParadela

Fragas do Eume

As Pontes, Pontedeume, Cabanas, A Capela and Monfero

The course of the river Eume and the forests that surround it, as it enters the province of A Coruña in the direction of its mouth, form a space of unparalleled natural and scenic value. The Fragas do Eume, declared a natural park in 1997, is one of the best preserved Atlantic riverside forests in Europe and offers visitors a multitude of attractions. Its oaks, chestnuts, birchs, hazels, alders and other tree species combined with the waters of the Eume make up images of great beauty in which botany enthusiasts can also look for the more than 20 varieties of ferns and 200 varieties of lichen that grow there. An ideal place for walking, cycling and even kayaking, the Fragas do Eume are also home to jewels of our heritage, such as the monastery of Caaveiro.

Fraga de Catasós

Lalín

Declared a natural monument two decades ago, this forest of oaks and chestnuts trees stands out for the size of its specimens, which in some cases reach 30 metres in height and 5 metres in perimeter. They were planted at the beginning of the 19th century by the owners of the Pazo de Quiroga, located nearby, which is why the place is also known as Fraga, Carballeira or Souto of Quiroga. It occupies a total surface area of just over 45,000 square metres and it is possible to walk around it along a circular path of just over a kilometre in length, signposted with interpretative panels.

Souto da Retorta

Viveiro

The need to fight against the flooding of the river Landro by draining some of the surrounding land was the reason why the first eucalyptus trees were planted in the parish of Chavín, in Viveiro, in 1860. One of them, known today as the Grandfather of Chavín, boasts of being the tallest tree in the community thanks to its height of more than 60 metres and has been included in the catalogue of singular trees of Galicia. In addition, the entire woodland, made up of more than 600 specimens and covering an area of just over 3 hectares, is considered a natural monument.

Souto de Rozavales 

Manzaneda

This chestnuts forest located in the lands of Manzaneda in Ourense is often cited as an example of the balance between agricultural use and respect for nature. The chestnuts of the trees that can be seen here have been harvested for centuries and some of these specimens reach surprising dimensions. The Pumbariños chestnut tree (included in the catalogue of singular trees of Galicia) is more than 12 metres in circumference and is one of the main natural tourist attractions of the municipality. The Souto de Rozavales has also been declared a natural monument.

Fraga da Marronda

Baleira

The most westerly beeches in southern Europe grow among oaks, chestnuts, holly and other trees in this ancestral autochthonous forest that extends over an area of 600 hectares in the mountainous areas of the municipality of Baleira, in the province of Lugo. A 20-kilometre route, which starts in the recreational area of A Cortevella, allows you to enjoy the place to the full, visiting places such as the source of the river Eo, crossing old bridges and contemplating old mills.

Devesa de Rogueira

Folgoso do Courel

The heart of the Courel Mountains Geopark holds countless natural treasures. One of the most outstanding is located in the municipality of Folgoso do Courel and consists of a primary forest of great diversity. Located in the parish of Seoane, the Devesa de Rogueira covers an area of 3 square kilometres of forest located on steep slopes and which serves as a habitat for a large number of different animal species, such as roe deer, martens, wildcats, dormice, martens, as well as the endemic species that live in the waters of its streams. A nature classroom, located in the village of Moreda, serves as a gateway to this forest and the route that runs through it.

Teixadal de Casaio

Carballeda de Valdeorras

At the foot of the highest peaks of Galicia, the Pena Trevinca mountains, is another of our most unique forests. The Teixadal de Casaio is the most important group of yew trees in Europe, with three hundred of them. Its location, on a hillside that is difficult to access, has contributed to its conservation and although there are several routes that lead to it, these are routes of high difficulty. It is advisable to have the services of a guide and be prepared to walk for 9 hours along a winding route that reaches an altitude of over 1,800 metres before descending towards the vegetal treasure of Casaio.

Bidueiral de Montederramo

Montederramo

The birch trees that give it its name make this space located between the Ribeira Sacra and the Central Massif of Ourense, on the slopes of the Sierra de San Mamede and in the heart of the Natura Network, a special place since it is one of the best examples of Eurosiberian vegetation in the north of the Peninsula. Oaks and holly trees can also be seen in the Bidueiral de Montederramo (or Gabín), a place that, apart from its landscape and natural values, is known for being the scene of some of the crimes committed by Manuel Blanco Romasanta in the mid-19th century, who claimed to be a werewolf who could not control his impulses and whose figure is also related to legendary characters such as the Sacamantecas and the bogeyman.

Laurel forest in Cortegada

Vilagarcía de Arousa

Forests also grow in the Parque Nacional das Illas Atlánticas de Galicia. The most unique of them all is the one that can be seen on the island of Cortegada, a place that has a long history, as can be seen in its buildings, but which stands out especially for its laurel forest. Strolling among these trees, some of which reach a height of 13 metres, with their gastronomic and curative properties, is one of the experiences that make it worthwhile to embark and sail the waters of the Arousa estuary to reach this destination, so close and yet so far from the landscapes of the mainland.

Bosque da Fervenza

O Corgo

The waters of the Miño feed, and sometimes flood, this autochthonous forest located in the upper course of what is considered to be the father of all Galician rivers. In a landscape of lagoons, river islands and ponds, centuries-old oak trees and large alders, as well as ash and willow trees, form one of the most important flood forests in the Peninsula and is included in the Terras do Miño Biosphere Reserve. An old mill, the dam built to feed it and the small waterfall formed by the Miño and which gives its name to the place, are other attractions of this space, ideal for strolling and relaxing, when the waters allow it.

Fraga de Cecebre

Cambre

Although its dimensions are smaller than when Wenceslao Fernández Flórez sought there the inspiration to write his most famous novel, “The Animated Forest”, the Fraga de Cecebre is still a place full of magic. On the banks of the river Mero or the reservoir of Cecebre, nature offers surprising landscapes to those who follow in the footsteps of the writer’s characters. Villa Florentina also stands there, the house where Fernández Flórez lived and which currently houses the foundation that bears his name.

Fraga de San Xoán de Río

San Xoán de Río

The course of the river Navea, a tributary of the Bibei and this in turn of the Sil, has given shape to an area of great value, as evidenced by the fact that it has been declared a Protected Landscape. As it passes through the municipality of San Xoán de Río, there is a unique forest popularly known as A Fraga, where numerous oak trees can be found, as well as other tree relatives, the “rebolos”, which also give the place the name of As Reboleiras do Navea. Mouruás is the starting point of a circular route of 6.8 kilometres that also leads to a nature classroom.

The Romería do Naseiro is a festival that is celebrated at the end of August in the valley of Naseiro, in the town of Viveiro. It is, since 1967, Festival of National Tourist Interest, and this year is held between 25th and 29th August, adding five days of concerts, meals and desire to enjoy.

This festival is attended by thousands of people from all over Spain who stay in the improvised huts built for the occasion, creating a village that also has its own flea market and many stalls for food and drink. All this, seasoned with music of orchestras and great variety of attractions.

Normally, the party starts on Friday afternoon, “octopus day”, in which a large dinner is organized for the son of “charangas” and pipers (only last year he repaired more than 3,000 kilograms of octopus). The following days are for the seafood, the broth, the empanada and the typical sardine (each day for one thing). On the last day, in the afternoon, the Humorous Descent of the Landro is realized, in which the organizers of the event and everyone that wants to join descend by the river until the field of the party, dressed in more singular costumes.

The origin of the Romería do Naseiro dates back to 1933, when Antonio Noriega Varela and José Barros promoted this initiative for the first time to exalt not a particular food, but the food in general. What began more than 80 years ago as a meeting of people from the village to eat and enjoy the place, today is one of the best known fiestas in Spain and lasts five days. Among the trees of Naseiro, today and as, are built large tables and booths of all kinds in what is important to enjoy good food and people.

In addition, this year, as a novelty, there will be orchestras both in the session and in the night party during all the days that the celebrations last, with which the fun and entertainment are assured.

In short, if there is a party that you can not miss, this is it. We do not know if it is the best, but it is the most curious we know. Of course to know why … you’ll have to go!

The whiteness of its sands contrasts with the green of the forests and fields that can be found behind it. Good for windsurfing, this beach benefits from a nearby youth hostel.

Magnificent views from a beach bordered by the estuary. The nearby town of Covas ––bearing the same name as the beach–– and the promenade make this an almost urban area.

A 300m path takes you to this little inlet of golden sand, jutting out from the foot of a cliff. Relatively well-visited, despite the difficulty of reaching it. 

 

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