About Courel Mountains Geopark
The territory of the Courel Mountains Geopark is composed, from north to south, by the municipalities of Folgoso do Courel, Quiroga and Ribas de Sil, included in its entirety in the Biosphere Reserve Ribeira Sacra e Serras de Oribio e Coureland a good part also within the Natura 2000 Network (ZEC Ancares - Courel).
These mountains are home to natural treasures among which stands out a unique geological heritage, with evidence of immemorial oceans, a mountain range 300 million years ago, a glacial past, gold deposits that marked an era 2000 years ago or caves that still hold secrets to be discovered. All this in a breathtaking landscape shaped by rivers that carved vertiginous valleys.
The encounter between Atlantic and Mediterranean climates and the geological and landscape diversity results in an incredible biodiversity, with its maximum expression in the Devesa da Rogueira, 3 square kilometers where 20 types of forest can be found.But there are also important micro-reserves of orchids with endemic or rare species, subway habitats due to the presence of limestone or a sea of forests and native scrubland where the brown bear recovers its territory.Among the vast geological heritage to be found in this territory, it is worth mentioning the presence of the Serra do Courel Lying Folds, geological structures that testify to the collision of two supercontinents more than 350 million years ago, giving rise to the formation of a huge mountain range that crossed Pangea from side to side. Their observation is possible thanks to the wedging of the fluvial valleys, which generated large outcrops where the fold section is exposed.Five of these outcrops have the qualification of points of geological interest of international relevance (Global Geosites). Around four of them, including Campodola-Leixazós, protected by the figure of Natural Monument, a sustainable local development project was built based on natural and cultural heritage that achieved the declaration of the territory as a UNESCO Global Geopark in April 2019.Due to its historical isolation, this territory preserves along with its natural values a rich cultural and ethnographic heritage and its diversity favors the presence of a surprising gastronomy. Products such as honey or chestnuts and others more associated with the Mediterranean region such as wines, included in the D.O. Ribeira Sacra, and olive oil stand out.