Information about Chantada
Chantada is situated in the heart of Galicia, between the beautiful Miño Canyon and Monte Faro. Its beautiful old town provides lovely evenings strolling through streets full of tradition and an interesting historical heritage. Around it, nature grows like never before and provides views of incomparable scenic richness. Chantada is an area of good wine due to its location and culture, of good food and clean air brought from the surrounding forests. A charming village with great character and a thousand virtues.
What to see and do in Chantada
The old town
A walk through the old town of Chantada is the first thing any visitor should experience. This area preserves the traditional arcades, a must to see when passing through the rúa del Comercio. The river Asma, a tributary of the Miño, crosses the village with charm and gives rise to a riverside promenade with an old traditional mill and different areas of great beauty with all the services, including a park with picnic area. In the Plaza del Mercado you can see the Casona de Lemos which was formerly the town’s market. The main street Dous de Maio is a stamp of the stately past of Chantada, a traffic that envelops every walker with its charm.
The Romanesque Route
Part of the charm of Chantada resides in the numerous samples of Romanesque architecture so it is an excellent ideal to make this route and to contemplate them in a route. It begins in the district of A Ponte from where you can see the Monastery of San Salvador de Asma belonging to the ninth century. Other examples to admire are Santa María de Pesqueiras or Santa María de Nogueira, the latter dating from the 12th century.
The Mourulle Bridge
The Mourulle Bridge was designed by the civil engineer José Antonio Torroja Cabanillas, II Marquis of Torroja with the intention of joining the parishes of San Xián de Ínsua and San Vicente de Mourulle in 1969. It is of great architectural beauty, with the modernity of its metal structure and in the incomparable scenic surroundings of the valley of the river Miño, in the Ribeira Sacra.
The Pazo of San Pedro de Bembibre
This pazo is one of the most interesting and beautiful buildings in Chantada, built in the 15th century for military rather than noble functions. It was built by the Counts of Taboada in 1413. The current building has a U-shaped floor plan and retains a three-storey tower on one side. The main façade is particularly striking for its impressive doorway formed by a semicircular arch with a heraldic coat of arms at the top. The pazo underwent a reconstruction due to its poor condition, which took place between 1984 and 1997.
Os Peares reservoir
This site is divided between two provinces and can be easily visited when you are in Chantada. The Os Peares reservoir is one of the oldest in Galicia and was built between 1947 and 1952. The water occupies an area of 535 ha and forms an interesting landscape to enjoy.
The church of Santa María de Nogueira de Miño
This church is another example of Romanesque origin that can be found in the town of Chantada. It was built in the second half of the twelfth century and remodeled in the eighteenth century, a period in which it was built a imposing baroque main façade. It still has many signs of Romanesque origin such as the late Romanesque rose window and the south door framed by a semicircular arch so it represents an interesting historical and architectural view.
The village of Belesar
This village is located between the territories of Chantada and O Saviñao and is a charming place that no visitor should miss. The village is home to a variety of cottages with traditional architecture of the area, made of stone and wood. It has a nice pier that connects with several areas and from which beautiful river routes along the river Minho. The Winter Way passes through here and also the Belesar Vineyards Hiking Route.
