• Region: Asturias and Galicia (Lugo)
• Declared a biosphere reserve: 2003
• Surface area: Almost 160,000 hectares
• Towns and villages: Ribadeo, Castropol, Trabada, Vegadeo, A Pontenova, San Tirso de Abres, Ribeira de Piquín, Taramundi, A Fonsagrada, Villanueva de Oscos, Baleira, San Martín de Oscos, Negueira de Muñíz, Santa Eulalia de Oscos.

Points of interest

The Río Eo, Oscos y Terras de Burón Biosphere Reserve is basically a land of fusion, a union of Asturian and Galician cultures and a water frontier where diverse forms of life coexist from the sea to the mountains. A landscape that allows you to descend from the silence of the mountains and valleys of the highlands to the light of the sea in just half an hour.

The area includes the entire basin of the Eo river from its source in Fonteo to its mouth in the nature reserve of the Ría de Ribadeo estuary and also the special protection areas for birds (ZEPA) Peñarronda-Barayo, the Ría de Ribadeo Ramsar Wetland and the Penarronda beach natural monument.

Find a hotel in the Rio Eo, Oscos y Terras de Burón biosphere reserve

Within the territory included in the reserve, four large landscape units can be recognized: the Western Cantabrian coast, the river channels, the estuary and the mountainous terrain. All of these areas are ideal for wildlife watching and the river estuary also an important are for migrant birdlife.

• The Western Cantabrian Coast is a territory dominated by marine and coastal ecosystems that includes the coastal plain. This is one of the best preserved estuaries in Asturias, the Ría del Eo. Its main interest, in addition to its avifauna, lies in its marsh vegetation, adapted to life in the harsh conditions of the estuary, with periodic floods and a habitat with a very high salt content.
• Inland, the river channels appear, where the Eo River constitutes the main river system of the Biosphere Reserve. They are valleys with fertile lands used since ancient times for agricultural, livestock and forestry use, as well as for the settlement of towns and villages.
• The river Eo forms an estuary of great natural value. At its mouth, where the marsh systems and sandy plains are temporarily covered by the action of the tides this area can only be described as stunning.
• The ranges and mountains leading up to the source of the river Eo progressively acquire a higher altitude as they move away from the coast and approach the Cantabrian mountains. They are covered by forests of oak, chestnut, birch and pine, heathlands and also numerous peat bogs.

The extensive forested area in the mountainous area of ​​the reserve is also home to a large range of species. Among the mammals, the wolf or the sporadic presence of the brown bear stands out. It also houses an important variety of forest birds, with species such as the black woodpecker.

Routes of the Camino de Santiago

There are two routes of the Camino de Santiago that pass through the Rio Eo, Oscos and Terras de Burón biosphere reserve: the Ruta de la Costa and the Camino Primitivo.

Information / visitor centres

Centro de Interpretación de la Ría del Eo – (Castropol).

The Interpretation Center of the Rio Eo, Oscos and Terras de Burón biosphere reserve is easy to find and located in the old factory of “Serrasa” in the town of Castropol. There are audiovisual exhibitions and information panels covering the fauna and flora of the area along with thematic exhibitions about human activity from past to present day.

Scattered across the area are many ethnographic museums, galleries and other sites of interest (Town location in brackets)

• Conjunto Etnográfico de Os Teixóis y Museo de los Molinos de Mazonovo (Taramundi).
• Museo Etnográfico de Esquíos (Taramundi).
• Conjunto Etnográfico de Mazonovo (Santa Eulalia de Oscos).
• Casa Natal del Marqués de Sargadelos (Santa Eulalia de Oscos).
• Ecomuseo del Pan (Villanueva de Oscos).
• Monasterio de Santa María de Villanueva (Villanueva de Oscos).

The official website for the Rio Eo, Oscos y Terras de Burón biosphere reserve is here: https://www.turismoasturias.es/en/descubre/naturaleza/reservas-de-la-biosfera/oscos-eo

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