Logbook · 13 places

What to see and do in O Riós

What to see and do in O Riós (Verín, Ourense): 13 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 3 Monuments · 4 Nature · 2 Activities · 1 Curiosities · 1 Historical milestones · 1 Food and drink

How far each place is from the centre of O Riós

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Spain › Galicia › Ourense › Verín › O Riós

What to see and do in O Riós

O Riós
Village
O Riós is an Ourense concello of about 1,380 inhabitants at over 800 metres of altitude, between the highlands and the Támega valley, in the comarca of Verín. Its curious name has no certain explanation: for some authors it is an alteration of 'Ríos', due to the Galician tendency to turn -ón plurals into -ós, while others derive it from Latin, from the Roman name 'Entre-los-Ríos' (Between the Rivers) because of the abundance of streams and springs, or from the diminutive 'riviolos' (small rivers). It appears documented as Orriolos in the 10th century, Villaurriola in 1031, Urriós in 1466 or Orriós in the Ensenada cadastre, until the current form was fixed. In the municipality, the chestnut remains a key crop, and for its entroido the vellarróns come out, masked with hardened cardboard masks.
Church of Santa María do Riós
Monument
Completed in 1718 under abbot Antonio Ramos Moscoso, it is the main Baroque church of the concello; before it stands a cruceiro with a souls' shrine, and its main feast is held every 15 August.
Bridge of o Mente
Monument
An eighteenth-century bridge over the river Mente, one of the four that cross that watercourse within the municipal district and that belong to different periods; the Mente drains into the Duero basin and not into that of the Miño.
Vellarróns of O Riós
Curiosity
The entroido masks of the concello, with masks carved in wood, woollen beards and coloured ribbons; the tradition was at one point lost and in recent decades has been recovered in the villages of the municipality.
Chestnut groves of O Riós
Nature
The centuries-old chestnut trees scattered across the municipality appear on the municipal coat of arms itself and sustain a gathering economy; the concello has dedicated an interpretation centre to them in the parish of Trasestrada.
Urdiñeira Peak
Nature
At 1,148 metres it is the highest point of a concello covered for the most part by oak groves, chestnut woods and pine woods; next comes Castelo da Pena, at 941 metres, above the valleys of the Mente and the Arzoá.
Festival of a castaña e do cogomelo do Riós
Activity
Autumn gathering that brings together the two great uses of the mountain in a concello covered in centuries-old soutos, and which adds to the fairs the municipality holds on the 2nd and 26th of every month. It is held on the first weekend of November since 1994, over Saturday and Sunday, and since 2008 it has been recognised as a fiesta of tourist interest of Galicia. Saturday opens with a promotional video of the concello and performances by folk groups and the municipal bagpipe band, and closes with a popular magosto of empanadas, chourizos, chestnuts and bica; on Sunday stalls of craft and gastronomic products are set up, along with an exhibition on the history of rural women and the traditional costume of the Entroido. Since 2017 the Castaña de Ouro prize has been awarded.
Church of Santo Estevo de Trasestrada
Monument
Parish church of Trasestrada, one of the eight parishes of the concello; its name alludes to the old road that linked Galicia with the plateau by the corridor followed today by the N-525 and the motorway.
Sierra Seca
Nature
Ridge of the concello of O Riós which, together with the ranges of Penas Libres and A Urdiñeira, closes to the east a territory covered with oak and chestnut woods in the upper basin of the Duero.
Hillfort of a Cavanca dos Mouros
Nature
Fortified settlement of the place of Castrelos de Abaixo whose name refers to the mouras of Galician mythology, the beings that tradition places inhabiting the castros and guarding their treasures.
Pilgrimage of a Nosa Señora das Dores
Activity
Pilgrimage festival of 15 September declared a holiday in the concello of O Riós, the main devotional event of a calendar that also includes San Cristovo, San Roque and the Assumption of August.
Definitive creation of the municipality of O Riós
Historical milestone
After having been born in 1812 under the Constitution of Cádiz and having been suppressed in 1823 by Fernando VII, the town council was constituted in stable form uniting Riós and Castrelos.
Queimada of Castrelos de Cima
Food and drink
In Castrelos de Cima, a parish of the concello of O Riós, the patron saint festivities in honour of Nosa Señora dos Remedios are held around 7, 8 and 9 September. On the third and last day the queimada ritual takes place, established in the 1970s with the aim of recovering and enhancing local customs and festivities while also boosting the patron saint festivities: the incantation is recited before the clay pot and the burning spirit is shared out among the villagers. The parish also preserved an old entroido with masks and costumes typical of vellarróns, now vanished.