Ancares natural green area Galicia - Spain

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GALICIA Information - Natural Parks: OS ANCARES

LOCATION: Municipalities of Becerrea, Cervantes, Navia de Suarna, As Nogais and Pedrafita do Cebreiro, east of the province of Lugo, bordering Lean.

SURFACE AREA: SCI "Ancares-Courel": 102,562 hectares.

ACCESS: A-6 and N-VI motorways to Becerrea. The area is delimited by the LU-722 BecerreaA Proba de Navia road to the west, with turn-offs to Doiras, San Roman de Cervantes, Degrada and Piornedo. Other local tracks penetrate into the mountains, for' example, to the north from A Proba de Navia; or to the south from Pedrafita do Cebreiro or, through a non-asphalted track, to the mountain pass of 0 Portelo, where it joins the LU-723 road.

SERVICES: Accommodation: Yes. Food: Yes.

M.A.N: Interpretation and Management Centre of the National Game Preserve of Os Ancares, Campo da Braña, Degrada (Cervantes).
Phone Number: 982 181 252

These are the magical mountains of Galicia and Leon. Together with O Courel in the south, it is the largest natural site of the community. The Guards of the Holy Grail in O Cebreiro, a mythical stretch of Saint james' Way. Passing area of brown bears and the last capercaillies. Tales about wolves in the light of the fire, while it is snowing outside; Celtic memories in the survival of pallozas (thatch-roofed dwellings). Always in plural, Ancares. The sierra is made up of small valleys at 250 metres above sea level, embedded between peaks reaching nearly 2,000 metres. The summits present the rounded shape which is characteristic of old mountains, where all kinds of erosion have left their mark, including glaciers. They capture any visitor's attention from afar, and those who enter have a special feeling of admiration and respect.
The main river, which marks the regional boundary in the west, is the high stretch of the Navia, which flows into the Asturian Cantabrian sea. It is accompanied by a series of tributaries, rivers and brooks, whose cold waters teem with trouts. The versant in Leon flows into the basin of the river Sil.
The vegetation is graded according to the heights and the effects of human intervention, which has given personality to the site. Heath scrubs abound, white in the winter and a light green in spring. On the northoriented sides, large oak groves prevail, which welcome in autumn additional tonalities from birches, hazel trees, European mountain ashes, hollies and yews.

ROUTES
Take the LU-722 local road as the main communication axis. This road connects Becerrea to A Proba de Navia, the two villages that share the condition of capital of Os Ancares. Both places have naturalinterest points that are worth visiting. Near Becerrea, a nice route may be taken through the limestone road (See Cruzul-Agüeira). There are approximately 25 Celtic settlements in the municipality of Navia de Suarna, as well as four fields of m.imoas (megalithic tumulus), twenty caves related to Roman-times mining, and numerous alzadas, old temporary centres of population that come to life in summertime.
In any case, the mountain calls the visitor. From Liber, two branches set off leading to Degrada, a village that is not always shown on the maps. The first branch goes through Doiras, with its imposing castle (privately owned); the second one goes through San Roman de Cervantes, a municipality which has an ethnographic museum and a Celtic settlement that is being excavated. The hostel of Os Ancares and the Interpretation Centre are located in Degrada. From here, we recommend climbing to the peak Tres Bispos (1 ,795m) through a route that goes through the summits when going to the peak, and through the forest of Cabanavella and the river when coming back.
But, without the slightest doubt, one of the most interesting journeys that may be made in Galicia is some twenty kilometres from Degrada: Piornedo. Bend after bend, the road reveals stunning ravines during the slow ascent. In the section of Vilarello de Donís, the forests and the lowest part of the river's talweg will have exceeded your expectations. You will eventually a new way of life represented by the pallozas, pre-Roman constructions with traces of castros which gave shelter, under the same rye straw roof, to persons and cattle. Some pallozas which have been transformed into museums even show the humble, beautiful cradles where their inhabitants were born until relatively recent times. There are other examples of this architecture of pallozas and hórreos (elevated granaries), even if their interior may not be visited, in Vilarello, Balboa and Burbia (Leon). From Piornedo, the walk may be started to the peak of O Mostallar (1,935 m), which will offer you a journey of endless beauty.

FLORA: Several forests: Carballo groves (Quercus robur) and Sessile oak groves (Quercus petraea). Birch trees (Betula alba), Hazel trees (Corylus avellana), European mountain ashes (Sorbus aecuparia), Holly trees (llex aquifolium) and Yews (Taxus baccata). Heath (Erica australis) and broom (Adenocarpus complicatus).

FAUNA: Emblematic species that cannot be found elsewhere in Galicia, such as the Brown bear (Ursus arctos) or the capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus).

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