Castro de Viladonga and source of the river Miño

Near the city of Lugo we find a well-preserved example of a pre-Roman settlement, from the 3rd to 5th centuries. The castrexos, the inhabitants who lived in Galician lands before the arrival of the Romans, lived in this type of settlement , which was later occupied by the Romans, changing the structure and urbanizing it.

The settlement, still in the process of being studied, can be visited almost completely, being able to appreciate the foundations of houses, streets, defensive walls and even some public buildings. To complete the visit we can see the castro museum, very didactic and explanatory.

About 15 km north of the Castro, near Meira we will find the Lagoa de Fonmiñá, a lagoon where groundwater and karst water come together, coming from various sources and from here the “pai” Miño river begins its journey. In this lagoon we can take a walk and see the sculpture dedicated to the Galician hero Breogán, by Magín Picallo and Manuel Mallo.

These waters come from the source of the Miño, some 10 km further up, in the Pedregal de Irimia. Glacial moraine where groundwater emerges from the end of a stone funnel. This space is the subject of many legends related to the Miño River.

From these two points, the Miño river will begin a journey of about 350 km throughout the Galician geography, crossing cities such as Lugo or Ourense, leaving landscapes as spectacular as the Ribeira Sacra, full of vineyards and monasteries, and ending its last 40 km serving as a natural border between Galicia and Portugal.