BOTANICAL BIODIVERSITY

The biodiversity of the flora (more than 1,200 species) found in its landscape features—canyons, plains, valleys, and mountain ranges—is evident when we consider that 60% of Galicia’s plant species are represented in this region. This remarkable figure is the result of its privileged location, with the Devesa da Rogueira serving as the prime example of floral diversity.

In Ribeira Sacra, you’ll be captivated by its chestnut groves, oak forests, and riverside woodlands filled with alders and ash trees, but the abundance of orchids is sure to catch your eye. In O Courel, there are micro-reserves of these flowers, home to as many as 22 different species. Notable areas include Monte Cido, Afloramento de Visuña, Hórreos, Alto da Pedra, and Alto do Couto.

Also outstanding is the abundance of aromatic and medicinal plants, though one of the most notable features is its Singular Trees. Ribeira Sacra boasts 14 of these true arboreal relics of great local significance and scientific, cultural, and historical importance, included in the Catalog of Singular Trees of Galicia: the narrow-leaved ash of Montepando, the alder at the Maside manor, the cork oak at the Casa do Tristo, the yew at Cereixido, the chestnut tree at Soto de A Ramigoa, the Great Oak of Mestre, the Great Oak of Bustelo de Abaixo, the oak at the Casa do Herdeiro, the oak at the Cartelos manor, the oak at the Casa Grande de Loureiro, the oak at Ramos, and the Pyrenean oak at La Pena. Two more complete the list of chosen trees: the Chestnut Tree of Pumbariños (in the Soto de Rozavales) with a trunk circumference of 12 meters, and the Millennial Chestnut Tree of Entrambosríos, a giant standing 15 meters tall with a circumference of 9 meters, growing amidst other centuries-old chestnut trees in a fairytale forest. Standing beneath any of them (always following best practices) gives you a sense of the power of these incredible living beings.