Top 7 Natural Monuments around Barbeita

The terraces of the Vez Valley, between Padrão and Porta Cova, are a masterpiece of the relationship between man and nature. Created by our ancestors to cultivate the land and ensure their livelihood, they change with each season, painting the landscape with ever-new colors. It is no wonder that this unique landscape was elected one of the “7 Wonders of Portugal” in the Rural Village category.

high with views and climb to pre iosa, stellar observatory and chapel

The top of Alto San Nomedio (Coto Grande) at 690m altitude. At the same top we will find the hermitage of San Nomedio and spectacular views

The Concello de As Neves has a rich natural and cultural heritage. Among its main archaeological resources is one of the main petroglyph stations in Galicia.

In the parish of Taboexa, in As Neves, there is a 328 meter mound whose pyramidal silhouette rises behind the parish church. This small curuto is part of the history of the parish since a castrexo settlement settled there more than two thousand years ago and survived for a while after the Roman conquest. This is the Altamira castro, a site that contains numerous mysteries that have caused the appearance of numerous legends around it.

The Concello of As Neves suffered devastating fires in October 2017. The fires destroyed 90% of the forest, all of San Domenio as well as the neighboring mountains were completely burned. However, after this ecological disaster, one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the last twenty years came to light, known as the petroglyphs of A Coutada , in Taboexa. Located in the parish of Taboexa, whose past is full of archaeological finds. Its petroglyphs, its mythical and legendary Castro Altamira, and its Roman presence (Note: bronze figure of the god Mercury found at the Capela San Bartolome) and many other discoveries make this parish a place without equal. Reference: Galicia Máxica https://www.galiciamaxica.eu/galicia/petroglifos-as-coutadas-taboexa/

Castro de Lira is located on one of the peaks that form the Monte da Costa and is the highest of an iron age fort (castro). There isn’t much left to see but the vistas are quite nice. Cut into the rock there is an altar and close by several deep bowls cut into the rock. The early inhabitants the “os mouros”, held rituals here and like most other pagan places of worship it was in the 18th century Christianized with a chapel. On January 15, during the celebration of San Amaro, a priest fills the historic basins with water to bless the surrounding farmlands, surely a similar tradition inherited from centuries ago. It is said that there were passageways at the top of San Amaro but the neighbors decided to plug them to prevent the cattle from falling into them. The baroque chapel is very simple. It has a quadrangular plan, a gabled roof and a facade formed by a lintel door and two windows on both sides. Two pinnacles on the sides and a simple belfry adorned with a Latin cross on top.

Castro de Lira is located on one of the peaks that form the Monte da Costa and is the highest of an iron age fort (castro). There isn’t much left to see but the vistas are quite nice. Cut into the rock there is an altar and close by several deep bowls cut into the rock. The early inhabitants the “os mouros”, held rituals here and like most other pagan places of worship it was in the 18th century Christianized with a chapel. On January 15, during the celebration of San Amaro, a priest fills the historic basins with water to bless the surrounding farmlands, surely a similar tradition inherited from centuries ago. It is said that there were passageways at the top of San Amaro but the locals pluged them to prevent livestock from falling in. The baroque chapel is very simple. It has a quadrangular plan, a gabled roof and a facade formed by a lintel door and two windows on both sides. Two pinnacles on the sides and a simple belfry adorned with a Latin cross on top.