Information about San Xoán de Castromaior
Castromaior, officially called San Xoán de Castromaior, is a small parish in the municipality of Abadín, located on the Camino del Norte. It is a town of great interest for its visual richness, partly due to its privileged location next to the Sierra del Gistral and the church that gives it its name.
What to see and do in San Xoán de Castromaior
Nature in the environment
Castromaior is located in a beautiful setting that no pilgrim or traveler should miss on their way through the place. The village is one of the entrance routes to the Sierra del Gistral, where the track that leaves the village of Fraga enters the mountain range through the valley of the river Arnela or Portela. In this context you can enjoy the river, the mountains, the valleys, meadows and forests. In Castromaior we also find the Pena da Auga, one of the most remarkable heights of Abadín.
A Pena da Auga
A Pena da Auga is the name given to an outcrop of slate located at an altitude of 730 meters in the Cordal de Ousá, bordering the municipalities of Friol and Outeiro de Rei. From the place there is a wide panoramic view, highlighting in the distance the mountains of Cova da Serpe, Corno do Boi and O Careón, which act as natural borders with the province of A Coruña.
Parish Church of San Xoán de Castromaior
This temple is located in the nucleus of O Barral. It is a church located next to a small castro that was built in the mid-sixteenth century and later renovated. It has a slate gable roof and the sacristy is at the head of the church. Its exterior is dominated by geometric decoration and completely aristocratic. There is an arrow slit in one of the side walls, and inside the church there is a beautiful altarpiece from the 18th century.
Medieval castle or castle of Castromaior
One of the great confusions of the pilgrim. Found on a rocky promontory in the Sierra de Gistral, this Castro de Castromaior (not to be confused with the millenary Iron Age castro of Santa María de Castromaior) is an archaeological site dating from the Middle Ages, of what is supposed to have been an ancient castle.
