Poblaciones

English description: The mountain range O Courel, which covers part of the Galician provinces of Lugo and Ourense, crossed by the Lor river, is a natural paradise of tremendous beauty, which Uxío Novoneyra incomparably captured in his poems. Its highest peaks are Formigueiros, Montouto, Faro, Capeloso and Pía Paxaro, which are very appropriate for trekking and to enjoy nature in its wildest, most vivid form. The very abundant, rich plant cover of this area is full of heath and oaks and, in the highest areas, we can see the ilex, "agranas" (kermes oak) and "cerelos" forests. Its valleys are surrounded with chestnut hills. The mountain villages, small communities with slate houses, which sometimes share their porticoes, are full of charm. Several pallozas (traditional huts) can still be visited in this mountain range. In O Courel several devesas (autochthonous forests), such as A Rogueira, Paderne, A Valiña and Romeor are also worthy of mention. This is one of the richest, most beautiful, botanical reserves in Galicia, a place where atlantic and mediterrenean forest is mixed. We must not forget the importance of the chestnut tree of this natural site. Its fruit has been the basic element in the diet of this area's inhabitants for a long time. It was an important ingredient of many dishes such as chestnut broth for breakfast, chestnuts with bacon or milk with chestnuts. However, not just the fruit but the whole tree was used: the leaves to cover the floor of the animals' stables, the wood and the flowers to produce honey.