Logbook · 6 places

What to see and do in Coirós

What to see and do in Coirós (Betanzos, A Coruña): 6 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 2 Monuments · 3 Nature

How far each place is from the centre of Coirós

Church of Santa María de Ois 2.7 km
Mount of o Gato 7.3 km

Towns near Coirós

What to see in Paderne 4.7 km · 7 places
What to see in Betanzos 6.3 km · 17 places
What to see in Irixoa 9.2 km · 4 places
What to see in Oza-Cesuras 9.8 km · 4 places
What to see in Aranga 11 km · 6 places
What to see in Bergondo 11 km · 7 places
What to see in Abegondo 12 km · 6 places
What to see in Monfero 12 km · 14 places

Spain › Galicia › A Coruña › Betanzos › Coirós

What to see and do in Coirós

Coirós
Village
Coirós is a municipality of the comarca of Betanzos, in A Coruña, located on a transitional step between the Lugo plateau and the Mariñas of A Coruña, between the Mandeo river, its boundary to the north, and the Mendo river, to the south; it has about 1,950 inhabitants across six parishes. The territory was inhabited since the castro culture, and at A Espenuca there later stood a paleo-Christian cenobium destroyed in the 5th century, alongside Roman remains. There stood the castle of the Speluncan, granted in 1130 to the archbishop of Santiago, and from that period dates the church of Santa Eulalia de la Espenuca, already documented in 881. The municipality preserves six Romanesque churches, among them Santiago and Santa María de Ois, and the petroglyphs of Pena Furada; of the da Mota castle, belonging to the Andrade family, barely any remains survive after the irmandiño revolts.
Church of Santa María de Ois
Monument
The church of Santa María de Ois, in rural Romanesque style, dates from 1183 and gives its name to the parish of the same name in the municipality of Coirós, in the Mandeo valley, which in 2013 had 454 inhabitants spread across twelve population centres. The place name Ois is thought to be a pre-Roman personal name rooted in 'freixo' (ash tree), predating the 3rd century. It is one of five Romanesque complexes preserved in this small municipality, along with those of Lesa, Colantres and Santiago de Ois, whose atrium also holds a cruceiro.
Hermitage of Santa Baia da Espenuca
Monument
The ermida de Santa Baia da Espenuca, adjoining the church of San Xulián de Coirós, is one of the earliest examples of Romanesque architecture on the Iberian Peninsula, perched on a rocky height above the Mandeo valley. The Constantinian-era church was destroyed by Leovigild, rebuilt and consecrated by a bishop - perhaps Ildulfo-Félix, between 675 and 688 - and rebuilt again and completed on 1 March of the year 881, according to a surviving inscription. In 1063 it was incorporated by donation into the monastery of San Salvador de Cis. It has a single small nave, with a barrel-vaulted apse and a round-arched doorway without mouldings; stone sarcophagi are preserved around the church. Already documented in this way in the 9th century, it is one of the oldest epigraphic records in the Betanzos region.
Chelo natural area
Nature
A stretch of the Mandeo in the A Espenuca valley declared a picturesque site by decree 2646/1972; it preserves fourteen mills among alders, ash trees and birches, and is one of the few rivers where salmon, trout and eel live side by side.
Mount of o Gato
Nature
Monte do Gato, at 512 metres, is one of the highest peaks in the Betanzos region and forms a natural boundary between the municipalities of Aranga, Coirós and Oza-Cesuras. On its northeastern slope, at the foot of the mountain, lies the natural pass linking A Coruña with Lugo, through which the N-VI road runs, and the area is also home to the tower of Teodomiro, near several fields of mámoas and petroglyphs. The highest summit in the municipality, with broad views over the comarca das Mariñas and the ría de Betanzos, its scrub- and woodland-covered slopes shelter wild boar and wildcats; a cycling route, the SM.15 route of the Plan Mandeo, today runs around its perimeter.
The Mandeo as it passes through O Chelo
Nature
A river spot where the Mandeo alternates pools, rapids and old mills beneath a dense alder wood. It is one of the best preserved stretches of the river that gives its name to the Mariñas Coruñesas e Terras do Mandeo biosphere reserve.