Route through the Cañones del Sil (Sil Canyons)

Hello everyone!

Along the Canyons of Sil, as you pass through the Ribeira Sacra, you can find a large number of viewpoints on both sides of the river. Many of them are located on top of the largest slopes of the canyon, allowing you to observe the impressive landscapes and the incredible impressions created by the Sil river.

You can also visit monasteries, vineyards, and wineries where you can taste the local wine. In fact this is where the Origin Ribeira Sacrais wine was born.

These canyons function as borders separating the provinces of Lugo and Ourense for 35 kilometers, creating numerous curves and twists along the course.

The area also has its own microclimate, milder than the continental-Atlantic climate of Galicia inland, favoring the viticulture in place and other crops.

Now I will share with you about my tour of these canyons and all the viewpoints we passed through. There are many more and, in fact, it is recommended to spend more than a day seeing this area as there are many places to visit. We, however, made a one-day getaway from Ourense and saw what we had the time to.

Although our route was based in visiting different viewpoints and at the end the city of Monforte de Lemos, the Ribeira Sacra offers many other options, for example a boat tour by river will give a different perspective of the landscape or you could go and taste the incredible wine from the various wineries of the area.

To go this route it is essential to have a car; although some excursions are made from cities like Lugo or Santiago, these do not give you the freedom to stop wherever you want and, after all, that is the best part of this route as you will happen along many of the best spots. In fact some of the viewpoints that I will tell you about below we found by chance driving and stopping in places that caught our attention and that were perhaps not well known.

As for which time it is best to follow this route, the spring and especially autumn are best as one can see the abundant vineyards on the slopes in their maximum splendor and appreciate the landscape dyed with beautiful colors. In summer it is also very nice but the weather makes walking a bit difficult as, said in a previous post about Ourense, the temperatures here are very high in summer but its also not a terrible idea. In winter the drawback is that it is more likely to encounter fog and that this does not allow you to enjoy the views.

On our route, our first stop wasn't a marked view, we simply stopped because we found a shoulder where to leave the car and the sights were beautiful.

We then followed the right side of the river until we reached the main dam and stopped nearby just before entering a small tunnel. From here we could see the construction and also the beautiful scenery.

A bit further on we arrived at our first stop.

Pe do Pobre Viewpoint

This is one of the few viewpoints that are not located at the bottom of the road. You have to leave your car in a small area that is right next to a sign indicating where to go to see the viewpoint next to the Pe do Home.

At first we almost got confused on the way because it wasn't very clearly indicated, but when we saw several cars there we figured it would have to be that way. Once you leave the car, there is a path down, or another up to climb to the top of the viewpoint. Although it can be confusing at first, the one to take is the path that goes down as it takes you to the river where you can cross it and then climb to the top of the mountain.

The road is more or less marked but I advise you to be well prepared with comfortable clothes and shoes because the uphill is somewhat steep, you will the also have to go back down to return to your car and some sections are slippery. If you go in the summer, remember to bring a bottle of water because the heat will be intense. We went in March but it was a fairly sunny day and we had plenty of layers anyway.

In about 15 minutes you reach the top and the first thing that found at the viewpoint was a wooden bench known as the best bench of the Ribeira Sacra. This bench was installed by the association Móvete por Nogueira.

This viewpoint is located in front of the Santo Estevo reservoir and its jetty, therefore it is a less steep area. Still, the views are worth it.

As for the Santo Estevo pier that I mentioned before, here you can find two catamarans from different companies that organize excursions along the river and that allow you to enjoy the Canyons of the Sil from a different perspective.

Only 200 m further on foot we will reach the viewpoint of Pé do Home.

Cabezoá Viewpoint

This viewpoint is located on the road that joins Luintra with Parada de Sil. There is a small shoulder where you can leave your car, besides it is not one of the most visited viewpoints so I don't think that you have any problem finding space to park it.

This viewpoint has a wooden walkway and a platform from where you can better appreciate the views. It is a good addition as it is also accessible for people with reduced mobility.

From this viewpoint you can see one of the vastest parts of the canyon, where the Coto das Boedas is formed.

Mirador Balcones de Madrid

This is probably the most popular viewpoint of the Canyons of Sil and it's located very close to the center of Parada de Sil.

You might ask yourself, as I did at the time, why is it called the viewpoint of Balcones de Madrid? Well, it's because in the past this was where women said farewell to their departing husbands, many of them boaters, sharpeners or other craftsmen who sold their products in the verbenas that were held in Madrid.

This viewpoint is 500 meters high and has several platforms and walkways protected by wooden railings from which you can see before you the Santuario da Virxe de Cadeiras and to the south the vineyards of Porta Brosmos and Sacardebois.

To access it you can leave your car on a dirt patch right next to a small football field. In this area there are also several stone tables perfect for seating . From there it's just a ten minute walk to reach the viewpoint.

I should also mention that before arriving you pass by the small village of Castro Caldelas in which there are several restaurants where you can also eat for those who have not brought something to eat or simply want to enjoy the cuisine of the area. The truth is that we when we passed by in the car the smell of delicious food came through the window, and we were almost tempted to stop to eat in one of the restaurants but in the end we settled for the food we had already brought.

Matacás Viewpoint

Now I want to tell you about my favorite viewpoint of all the ones I visited, although there are many others that we could not visit due to a lack of time which are also beautiful so I am basing this only on what I saw.

It is also one of the less known spots of Ribeira Sacra and is located very close to Castro Caldelas. From here you can see the slopes full of vineyards, beautiful forests and also the rock walls of the canyon. Also on the river, under our feet, we could also see the pier of Doade, in Lugo, from where boats leave to take a trip along the river and enjoy the canyons from the waters.

In addition to the beautiful views, as you can see in the picture, what makes this viewpoint special is that, unlike others, it does not have any platform to admire the views, and that causes it to almost look like we are somewhere more remote.

Fortunately, there is a good place to park the car. From there you have to climb a small slope but you can reach the viewpoint in just five minutes.

Mirador do Soutochao

This viewpoint is located in the heart of the Doade vineyards. What stands out most when you reach it is a statue of a woman standing before. This statue named O Carreteiro was made from granite by the sculptor Manuel Rial in homage to the superhuman effort required in viticulture in the past . This is why it is also known as the Harvester's Viewpoint.

The landscape from this viewpoint is marked by the number of vines found on the steep slopes. And it was at this lookout where I realized how amazing the autumn landscape must be full of colors, because at least when I went the vines were completely dry which took away from the beauty of it all.

In addition to the valley, you can also visit nearby the rocky peak of Pena do Castelo in which there is also an incredible viewpoint. Unfortunately we did not go to this as the road recommended to us by the GPS seemed somewhat dangerous, it was a rather narrow dirt road and very steep. Another option was to walk up although the truth is that it was not exactly close and it was already getting late, so we decided not to go. If you dare or have time to walk to the top, it is very worthwhile because, based on the photos I've seen, it's one of the most beautiful areas of the entire Ribeira Sacra. This is partly because the beautiful hermitage of San Mauro marks the landscape.

Monforte de Lemos

This small town is located very close to our last viewpoint so we didn't hesitate to go and make it out last stop of the trip.

First, when we arrived we decided to go to the top of a small mountain from which a kind of castle stood out. We parked the car right by in an adjacent parking lot. From up there you can see the whole city and its surroundings. We discovered that in addition to what formerly was a castle and of which only a small part is preserved today, there was a church and an inn as well.

It turns out that this small mountain about is called the Monte de San Vicente and centuries ago was surrounded by a walled enclosure with defensive towers. To this day some parts are still preserved. The Tower of Homage is thirty meters high and still in good condition. We tried to go in to see if you could climb to the top, but it was locked, maybe because we went on a holiday.

The church is quite well taken care of but as soon as we saw it we realized that it has been restored several times because parts of its architecture do not seem to belong to the time in which it was built.

Both the construction of the church and the inn is related to the Castro family because it was them who lived in the castle for some time in the past.

After this visit we took the car again to get down to the town's center. It was very easy to find where to park since right next to the Colegio de Nuestra Señora la Antigua there was extensive parking.

El Colegio de Nuestra Señora la Antigua, also known for being El Escorial Gallego, stands out for its size and beauty. It's also known as Colegio de los Escolapios as it's a center of the Escuelas Pías and it is the Escolapio parents who are responsible for its maintenance.

It was built by the Cardinal Rodrigo de Castro at the end of the sixteenth century, although its construction lasted around three centuries. Its 110-meter façade won't leave you unimpressed.

In addition to this structure, if you walk behind the parking, you will come to the Cabe river that crosses the center of the city as well as a small bridge. This was one of my favorite corners of Monforte as there were a lot of people sitting on the lawn by the river, feeding the ducks, relaxing, talking... It seemed like a good place to spend the afternoon.

We continued walking and we got to the historical quarter and we found a lot of terraces where one can stop for drinks, and we did.

We were running late and had to leave the city behind to finish our route back to Ourense.

This has been all about my route in the Sil Canyons. Again, I hope you liked it.

I'll be back soon to tell you more about my travels. Thanks for reading!

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