We leave Froxán enjoying its forests of century-old chestnut trees until we reach the village of Vilar, where we contemplate a small ethnographic museum and its castro. From there, we will go through lush forests until we reach Valdomir and meet the Lor River from which we will no longer separate. The end of the stage is in O Pontón, a curious bar decorated with all kinds of woodwork in the village of Ferreirós de Abaixo.

Difficulty MIDDLE

14.9 kilometers

7 hours

+859 m, – 768 m slope

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Seoane - Ferrería Vella 0174

the chestnuts drying ...

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the rooster in the corral

Seoane - Ferrería Vella 0150

the wood growing ...

Ferrería Vella - Froxán 0751

... and the craftsman working

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The chestnut: survival crafts

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Reservations from JUNE 1ST, 2024

We begin this third stage in Froxán, filling with water if necessary in the Fonte dos Milagres. We leave the village until we reach the Ponte do Bao, where there is another fountain and, walking along the Souto de Vilar through a beautiful chestnut tree, whose fruits served for centuries as a food base for people and livestock, we arrived at Vilar.

Vilar is another little sip of magic inside the route. Here lives the great Xan de Vilar, who has in his house amount of material that can be considered an ethnographic museum. In it you can see, iron factory utensils, the forge and bellows, carpenter, ceramic, utensils used by cattle, cattle carts, plows and other farming tools. He also saves several musical instruments of which he is able to play several of them.

This neighbor besides being a good connoisseur of the area and many stories of the place, is also the conservative and restorer of the Hermitage of San Roque. Near the museum house «do Ferreiro» there is a splendid fountain from which abundant water flows, known as the Fonte da Saude.

After the hermitage is Castro de Vilar, the largest of the Courel and that requires a restoration process, since it is losing many of its stones, which can be seen down the hillside. Taking care where we put our feet, we can see its defensive structure, which takes advantage of the deep cuts of the mountain and the meanders formed by the Lor River for settlement. You can see remains of two towers on the east side and some of the houses in a circular shape. From here, the panoramic views over Vilamor and the river are spectacular and the control over the entire Lor Valley is total.

From here we will walk along the slopes of the hillside in the direction of Valdomir, where we will make a small stop and meet again with the Lor, which we will not leave at the whole stage.

Through O Touzón we will arrive at Ponte de Sudrios and we will all go to the edge of the river, the sun’s rays cannot pass through the thick vegetation. We cross to the other shore by the Ponte de Transpando and continue enjoying our walk through the Lor. We leave to our right the capital of the municipality, Folgoso do Courel.

The end of the stage is in Ferreirós de Abaixo, a village located 540 meters high and that had its origin in an old iron factory of the 18th century located in Carboeiro, and whose remains were used to make the road. Nearby is the Mámoa de A Medorra.

At present, the main claim that Ferreirós has is the Bar O Pontón, which will not leave you indifferent and that it is an ethnographic museum and an essential classic for everyone who visits the Courel. Located on the remains of the old iron factory, its owner Manuel Álvarez has been modeling the chestnut wood by hand to build tables, chairs, bars and all kinds of furniture that form a beautiful set and make it the perfect place to finish this third stage by the Serra do Courel. To eat, a closed menu where the beef of the region is the main protagonist.

Taking advantage of the river, it also has a children’s play area and a small natural pool on the Ferreirós River. An essential and a perfect place to finish off a new stage of this adventure.

Route Planning