Rozavales Chestnut Forest

The Xunta de Galicia declared the area as a Natural Monument in 2000, since the grove was a paradigm of the Galician ‘sotos mansos’ (tame groves), plantations of chestnut trees grafted with varieties of quality fruit, with centenary specimens of incredible dimensions, including the Pumbariños Chestnut Tree.

Planted in lines that are still visible, the chestnut trees have large trunks that remain unbranched until they are 2-3 m high, where the cross is formed and the crown begins to form, which is renewed every few years for firewood and lumber and, above all, to encourage healthy yields of good-quality chestnuts.

These groves are an essential part of our cultural and natural heritage. It is worth remembering that before potatoes were introduced to Europe, chestnuts were the staple food in Galician homes, and they represent a balanced agro-silvopastoral ecosystem rich in biodiversity, including rare animal species native to our Autonomous Community.

This grove hosts specimens of chestnut trees of great longevity (some over a thousand years old) and extraordinary beauty, authentic plant monuments. An outstanding specimen is the one known as O Castiñeiro de Pumbariños (the Pumbariños Chestnut Tree), whose perimeter reaches 12.15 metres.