Os Ancares Lucenses e Montes de Cervantes, Navia e Becerreá

The Os Ancares Lucenses e Montes de Cervantes, Navia e Becerreá Biosphere Reserve is a mountainous protected area in the northeastern corner of Galicia, in Lugo province, spanning the municipalities of Cervantes, Navia de Suarna and Becerreá. UNESCO designated it a biosphere reserve in 2006, and it covers close to 53,664 hectares.

Where is it and what shapes its landscape?

The reserve lies in the comarca of Los Ancares, near the borders with Castilla y León and Asturias. Its terrain is defined by dramatic altitudinal contrasts, with differences of up to 1,600 metres between the highest peaks and the floors of the river valleys below. The Navia, Ser and Rao rivers cut deep valleys through the mountains, separating the ranges and creating a patchwork of distinct microclimates across relatively short distances.

Why is the biodiversity here so distinctive?

The reserve sits at the meeting point of two major biogeographic regions, the Eurosiberian and the Mediterranean. That overlap allows species typical of the wet, Atlantic climate of northern Spain to coexist with others adapted to warmer, drier Mediterranean conditions, all within a relatively compact territory. The forests are dominated by chestnut, oak, birch, hazel, rowan, holly and yew, species characteristic of Atlantic deciduous woodland at mid to high mountain elevations.

What is worth seeing beyond the natural landscape?

One of the reserve's standout cultural assets is the village of Piornedo, which preserves an exceptional group of pallozas, traditional round or oval dwellings thatched with rye straw. This building style, with roots going back to pre-Roman times, reflects centuries of adaptation to the harsh conditions of Galicia's mountains. Piornedo remains one of the few places in Spain where this architecture survives in something close to its original form, offering a direct link to the traditional life of the region's mountain communities.

How can visitors explore the reserve?

More than 30 marked hiking routes cross the reserve, leading through its most valuable forests and river valleys as well as to villages that still preserve traditional buildings and farming practices. These trails give visitors access to both the natural values of the territory and its ethnographic heritage, from shepherds' huts to historic village layouts shaped by centuries of mountain life.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the reserve located? In the eastern part of Lugo province, Galicia, across the municipalities of Cervantes, Navia de Suarna and Becerreá, in the comarca of Los Ancares.

When was it designated a biosphere reserve? UNESCO granted it this status in 2006.

How large is the reserve? Around 53,664 hectares.

What makes its ecology especially distinctive? The overlap of the Eurosiberian and Mediterranean biogeographic regions, combined with altitude differences of up to 1,600 metres, which creates an unusually varied mosaic of habitats.

What is worth seeing beyond nature? The village of Piornedo, with its traditional rye-thatched pallozas.

How many hiking trails are there in the area? More than 30 marked routes.