A Peroxa: Trails, Churches and Traditional Galician Cuisine

Trails

In A Peroxa, the Senda A Peroxa is a 23.80-kilometre circular route for hiking, running, cycling and motorcycling. It is classified as difficult on foot and by bicycle, and as moderate by motorcycle.

The first section of the Ruta do Miño PR-G 179 leads from A Peroxa to Gulfariz along the Rial stream through a riverside forest. The Ruta do Miño PR-G 179 is an officially approved trail signposted according to the guidelines of the Federación Galega de Montañismo. The Ruta cicloturista da Peroxa is a fully signposted 23-kilometre cycling route through the municipality’s chestnut and oak forests. The Ruta do Río Bubal is a six-kilometre route along the right bank of a high-altitude mountain river to Besteiros and is considered particularly interesting for its landscape.

Nature

The ruins of Castelo de A Peroxa stand on a hill above a former castro settlement and offer views of Ourense, Graíces and the Pazo de Láncara. The Fervenza de Santigueiro is a landscape with several small cascades on a stream flowing into the Río da Barra. Further downstream, the Río da Barra flows into the Miño.

History

Manuel Fernández Fernández, known as “O Lebre das Casarizas”, was born in 1906 in the village of Casarizas in A Peroxa and died in 1997. The O-Lebre Museum contains almost 500 exhibits and uses Lebre’s machines and inventions to convey the rural way of life of the 20th century and the traditional occupations of that time.

The Igrexa de San Martiño de Vilarrubín is an example of rural Baroque architecture from the 18th and 19th centuries. Its main façade is divided into three sections by pilasters and contains a glazed image of the Virgin Mary. The Igrexa de Santiago de A Peroxa was built in the second decade of the 20th century from stones from Castelo da Peroxa and modelled on a Baroque church. Its façade features a twin bell gable crowned by Christ the King, as well as round arches with tympana and stained-glass windows.

Museums

The Aula - Museo do Ferrocarril dos Peares exhibition is divided into six thematic sections. Its collection includes railway technical communications equipment, tickets, clocks and uniforms, as well as models, toys and art. The main building houses a historic canteen with a thematically appropriate library.

Festivals and Cuisine

The Feira da Peroxa takes place on the 13th and 27th of each month in the municipal capital. It is associated with Carne O´Caldeiro de Vitela, which is prepared in the same way as it was centuries ago.

Carne o Caldeiro de Vitela is a dish from traditional Galician cuisine made with boiled beef and potatoes, seasoned with lard and paprika. In Mirallos, Carne ao caldeiro is prepared on site; whole pieces of beef can be viewed beside the cauldrons in which they are cooked. The Romaría da Saúde takes place on the third Sunday in September at the Capela da Nosa Señora da Saúde in the parish of Mirallos.

Other Places

Other places at the same level are Laza, Albarellos, Vilanova, A Veiga, Porqueirós, Mosteirón, Cortegada and Sobreira.

Geographical Location

A Peroxa belongs to the Ribeira Sacra geodestination area. From Ourense, the route towards Santiago de Compostela follows the N-525 national road; at the Gustei junction, turn right towards Vilarchao in the municipality of Coles.

To the higher-level travel overview: Ourense.