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The first turn-off
to the hamlet of Romeor starts in Seoane. It has been recently
signposted as a Roman tunnel-aquaduct (1st and 2nd centuries).
To reach this place, you will have to park your car near the
houses in Romeor and walk a few kilometers among the trees.
Coming back, from Seoane, it is also possible to reach the
magnificent monastery of Samos, or viceversa. The road runs
through the mountains and the river Louzara, with its beautiful
valley. Further down Seoane, at the turn-off to Moreda (where
there is a Nature Room) and Parada, it is possible to access the
Devesa da Rogueira and the small ake of Lucenza. From Moreda,
you can enjoy 12 km of pure Courel. As early as in 1901, One of
the first botanists who studied it wrote that "A Rogueira
maintains the decorations of ancient history", and it has
remained unchanged.
The brooks which have their source at the
peak, such as Fonte do Cervo, rush downhill.
A large crag may be found, with two jots from which waters with
different tastes and colours spring up: one is limpid and
calcareous, and the other is ferruginous. The small lake of
Lagoa Lucenza may be found upriver. Halfway between Seoane and
Folgoso, a branch sets off to Seceda. This route, which offers
the Celtic settlement of A Torre, is an open-air museum of
traditional architecture that gives lessons of common sense and
adaptation to the environment. The hamlet of Seceda was restored
a few years ago, and in the mountains you will see alvarizas,
groups of beehives fenced to protect them from bears.
The
vegetation surrounding them reveals the taste of heather and
other ericaceous flowers.
Further on, you will pass the spa of O Incio and the Romanesque
church of Hospital do Incio. The fourth route starts in Folgoso
and leads to the Celtic settlement of Vilar. The charming,
medieval-looking hairnets of Vilamor and Froxan may be visited.
The latter has also been recently restored, and still maintains
beautiful cork oaks on the descent to the river. The final part
of the route, which should be made on foot, is indicated by the
Celtic settlement of Vilar, chiselled in mountain slate on a
meander of the Lor. It can also be reached through a steep road
from the peak of Alto do Boi (1.062 m).
Finally, near Quiroga, tectonic forces are suddenly revealed in
the open-air synclinal folding in Campodola.
There are few
places in Europe where we can open our eyes to the geological
history of a land like OCourel. You will be glad to know its
history, and to see that it is still preserved.
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