Audioguide

The Chestnuts and Carriozas Path

A landscape to admire, natural wealth to preserve and stories to remember, it will what you find walking through the Chestnuts and Carriozas path. This path bring you closer to the secrets of centenary chestnut forest, feel the life and the history hiden in every corner, and, of course, don't forger return!!

The chestnut is the tree of life. Groves like this one helped to build the life of Galicia. Chestnut trees provided shade in summer, wood for houses and furniture and, above all, a source of food for all the year. Chestnuts are an emblem of the Galician identity.

Life pulses through every corner of the grove, as many animals typical of the Atlantic Forest, like doves, hoopoes and wild boar, find shelter here. All are part of its natural riches. Each year the chestnut trees give a gift to all the creatures around: chestnuts.

What might happen if the copses are abandoned? A tradition grew up around chestnuts: parties with neighbours, to eat them roasted, or boiled and mixed with fresh milk or wine, and dried to eat throughout the year. They can always be found on a Galician table. Preserving the groves safeguards the tradition, protects the resources, and creates wealth!

The footsteps of entire generations created the carriozas or paths. The houses, fields and centuries-old chestnut trees are linked by these paths, creating a landscape changed by human activity that tells its story to today's generation. People walked along these paths to their groves of trees and their farms. The narrow paths separated the properties from each other and allowed the cattle to pass by without damaging the neighbouring fields.

To walk along them is to journey through history and popular architecture. The drying house is the place where the chestnuts are dried after being harvested and are kept throughout the year. A traditional Galician house gives us warmth; it’s alive! The different parts of the house blend into a living entity. Warmth comes from the stable and the cellar on the ground floor, mixing with the constant heat from the fireplace upstairs, the centre of family life.

The Galician house is the heritage of a village fully integrated with its natural surroundings. Nature provided the stone and wood to build it and the people added their wisdom to make it fit the environment.

The 2.5 km route is of low difficulty and can be completed in 60 to 90 minutes on foot, or less on horseback, or by bicycle.