Valga: Routes, Ulla Landscape and Culture

Valga offers several concrete starting points for planning a trip: historic routes, waterside landscapes, local history and culinary traditions. If you are looking for a hotel in Valga, these themes can help you decide what to focus on during your stay.

Historic routes and different kinds of paths

The medieval stone bridge Ponte do Souto spans the River Valga and forms part of the Camiño Real. The former route ran mainly as a trade route parallel to the banks of the Ulla in the province of Pontevedra, in the direction of Vilagarcía. The Ponte do Souto in Campaña attests to its passage through Valga. The bridge thus brings together a tangible connection to the river and the history of the trade route.

The Vía Mariana, also known as Luso Galaica, offers a different theme. This religious route connects Marian shrines; in Valga, it passes near the Capela dos Martores and the Pedra da Serpe petroglyph. While the Camiño Real recalls former trade, the religious character of the route is central to the Vía Mariana.

Mar de Santiago is another type of route: a maritime and fluvial route formed by Vilanova de Arousa, Catoira, Valga and Pontecesures. The historic and religious routes associated with Valga thus differ from a route that connects several municipalities.

Water, landscape and specific places

Lagoa da Mina Mercedes covers about 30,000 m² and is almost 20 metres deep at its centre. Its area and central depth describe different dimensions of this body of water. Miradoiro do Monte Beiro offers a wide-ranging view across the landscape, with a panorama over the Ulla Valley.

The route to the Fervenzas de Raxoi e Parafita includes an approximately 500-metre walk through dense riverside woodland to a restored mill and a wooden footbridge. The path thus leads through wooded waterside scenery to two specific destinations: the mill and the footbridge. Monte Albor is a nature-focused area surrounded by bodies of water and old mills.

Parque Irmáns Dios Mosquera has a recreation area with a river beach, a children's playground, a walking path, bridges, picnic areas and parking. These facilities give the park a different character from the viewpoint at Monte Beiro or the path to the waterfalls. Valga Verde, in turn, is a municipal network of places of natural, scenic and educational interest.

Local history and craftsmanship

On the first floor of the Museo de la Historia de Valga, the history of Valga is presented from the first settlers to the present day. The exhibition therefore spans the period from the beginnings of settlement to the present. Ponte do Souto, by contrast, is a single historic site: it recalls a medieval bridge and the route of the former Camiño Real.

The Belén Artesanal en Movemento comprises around 3,000 pieces or slightly more, many of which are movable. Members of the Asociación Amigos do Belén make the figures and other decorative elements by hand. The Belén is located at Rúa Nova s/n in Campaña, Valga, in the province of Pontevedra, 36645.

Local traditions and cuisine

The Festa da Anguía has been held in Valga since 1989 and showcases culinary preparations of eel from the River Ulla. The Mostra da Caña do País showcases traditional spirits made in the parishes of Valga by distilling grape pomace. The two traditions have different focuses: eel dishes from the Ulla on the one hand, and production from grape pomace on the other.

If one of these events is a deciding factor in planning your trip, check the dates for your travel period.

Discover more destinations: Buezas, Nigoi, As Mariñas, Bamio, O Hío, Soutomaior, Mondariz-Balneario, O Rosal.

For the broader travel overview: Pontevedra.