Description
The district of Barbanza is a land of strong contrasts divided by the Sierra de O Barbanza mountain range, an enormous granite hulk that dives into the sea separating the Rías Baixas of Muros-Noia from that of Arousa. Within a relatively small area, its natural environment includes landscapes, natural features and archaeological sites of the greatest importance.
The landscape, with the untamed beauty of its features and hills which are like privileged balconies over the Rías Baixas, opens up to extensive white sandbanks and lagoons on the coast. One of the most remarkable features here is the dune complex of Corrubedo, which includes the lagoons of Carregal and Vixán. The area is also rich in megalithic and prehistoric monuments such as the spectacular Castro de Baroña, as well as in fishing villages with a past reaching back to the Middle Ages. In the Sierra de O Barbanza, thousands of horses and cows live in complete freedom, in touch with nature, among hills swept by the wind from the sea.
This is the same scenery featured in the film ‘The Sea Inside’, which won the 2005 Oscar for Best Foreign Film, by the director Alejandro Amenábar. It is based on the true story of Ramón Sampedro, who was paralysed from the neck down during 28 years after an accident among the extraordinary rocky cavities on As Furnas beach.
Duration: Full-day tour
Recommended stops: Noia – Castro Baroña – Dunas Corrubedo – Dolmen Axeitos – Curota – Pobra do Caramiñal – Padrón
