O Miradoiro Route (Penagache)
Circular: No
Distance: 11.5 km
Difficulty: Low / Medium
The route can be done on foot, on horseback, on a mountain bike or on an all-terrain vehicle.
The path starts in front of the town hall, where the route’s explanatory panel is located. From here we will take the road to Xacebáns, the beginning is on asphalt that we follow for approximately 2 km until we reach the crossroads of the road that goes from Bande to Notaria, there next to some abandoned and half demolished warehouses, called Os Garaxes. We start the walk through a narrow path surrounded by pines, oaks, birches and native vegetation of great natural beauty, which leads us to a hidden village called Retortoiro, the path passes by it but we can easily access it through a path in about 20 minutes. Following the route between meadows and semi-abandoned farmland, we go down towards the Deva river, which has some good natural pools for bathing, although the water is very cold, as the shadows of the trees on the banks prevent the arrival of sunshine.
It is crossed by a robust stone bridge and following the course of the Deva river it begins a continuous ascent with occasional cobblestones and in other occasions in land, generally humid, that ends in another cobblestone and that arrives until Xacebáns, last town of this route, where it will be able to be visited a bar located in the old communal furnace of the town or to satisfy the thirst or to refresh itself in the many sources of crystalline water that they have.
We cross Xacebáns until we reach a forest road at the top of the village, which will start a continuous ascent along a path of loose earth and stone, and as we progress upwards the landscape becomes larger. The highest point is when you reach Penagache, which can be perfectly identified by the cross on top of an immense granite mass. The path ends at the top of Penagache at an altitude of 1,226 metres. From here the landscape is magnificent, you can see part of the Miño, Arnoia and Deva valleys, and in the distance the Limia, San Mamede, Alto do Rodicio and Larouco mountains.
On the other side of Penagache you will hear water falling which you will only see in winter when the volume of the water increases, it is a waterfall in the stream called “O salto do gato”. The legends say that under Penagache and with an entrance near this waterfall there is a cave from the time of the Moors.
Leaving Penagache along a track that now has moments of rest alternating with slopes not as steep as the previous ones, you will reach the border path in front of the frame nº21.
Taking the left variant, before arriving at nº22 in Portuguese territory, you will be able to visit a mámoa (megalithic funeral monument) excavated and quite battered. Almost in front of the nº23 on the left you can see the imposing picture of the Mota Grande.
Continuing to nº27 is the path that leads to Celanova and if you approach nº29 1st is the one that leads to Bande.