Igrexa de Santa María Madalena de Requeixo

Igrexa de Santa María Madalena de Requeixo is a small parish church standing in Requeixo, one of two hamlets that make up the parish of the same name within the municipality of Chandrexa de Queixa, in the province of Ourense, Galicia. It's a stop for travelers drawn to inland Galicia — a mountainous, sparsely populated corner of the region, far from the coastal crowds, defined by empty roads and stone hamlets.

How to get there?

Requeixo sits in the heart of the Terra de Trives comarca, in the mountainous eastern part of Ourense province, surrounded by the Serra da Queixa range. A car is essentially the only practical way in, following local roads through the municipality of Chandrexa de Queixa, whose administrative center lies a few kilometers away. The nearest larger town is A Pobra de Trives, from where winding roads lead toward the Chandrexa reservoir. It's worth allowing extra time for the drive — the area is thinly populated with narrow mountain roads, but the scenery along the way more than makes up for the slower pace.

What will you see?

The church itself is a modest, rural building typical of small parishes in this part of Galicia — a simple stone structure sized to serve a small community rather than impress with scale. Its dedication is to Saint Mary Magdalene, whose name appears in local records in the older Galician form "Madanela," still used in the parish's official name. Requeixo today is a tiny hamlet — census figures put its population at only a handful of residents, making the church a natural focal point in a landscape of meadows, stone walls, and scattered farm buildings.

The wider parish covers two settlements, Requeixo and Zamorela, and its population has been steadily shrinking for decades, mirroring rural Galicia's broader depopulation. For visitors, though, that decline has an upside: a landscape almost untouched by mass tourism, where a village church still fulfills its original, local role.

What else is worth seeing nearby?

The municipality of Chandrexa de Queixa is best known for its reservoir on the Navea River, built in the 1950s, whose shoreline — dotted with small bridges and footpaths — makes for a popular walking and scenic route. Close by lies the O Invernadeiro Natural Park, one of the wildest and least populated protected areas in Galicia, home to the highest peaks of the Queixa mountain range, including the Manzaneda ski station at 1,782 meters and the San Mamede range. In the Serra da Queixa, it's also worth seeking out the smaller waterfalls on the Dorelle stream, one of which drops more than 10 meters.

Within the municipality, other sights include the church of San Pedro de Chandrexa, the 18th-century Casal de Drados estate now used for rural tourism, and the Previsa bridge, said to date back to Roman times. Requeixo is best treated as one stop on a longer route through Terra de Trives.

When to visit?

Spring and early summer are best, when mountain roads are fully passable and the meadows and forests are at their greenest. Summer also draws visitors for swimming and relaxing by the Chandrexa reservoir. Autumn, with golden forest colors and fewer tourists, suits travelers looking for a quieter trip. In winter, some roads can be affected by snow at higher elevations in the Serra da Queixa, so it's worth checking conditions before setting out.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is Igrexa de Santa María Madalena de Requeixo located? In the hamlet of Requeixo, within the municipality of Chandrexa de Queixa, in the Terra de Trives comarca, Ourense province, Galicia.

What is Requeixo? A small village that forms part of a parish of the same name, which also includes the hamlet of Zamorela — an area with a very small and steadily declining population.

What's worth seeing near the church? The Navea River reservoir, the O Invernadeiro Natural Park and the Serra da Queixa mountains, as well as the church of San Pedro de Chandrexa and the Previsa bridge.

How do you get to Requeixo? By car is by far the most practical option, via local roads through the municipality of Chandrexa de Queixa — the region is mountainous with very limited public transport.