The North Coast of Galicia which lies between Ribadeo and Ferrol is an area off the extreme natural beauty and this part of the coastline is known as the Rias Altas.



The coastline here is made up from a series of rias which are inlets and beautiful bays and interspersed with outstanding Rocky headlands.

In the midst of this is the small fishing town of Ribadeo. This has an attractive harbour and occupies an extremely picturesque setting on the banks of the Ria de Ribadeo. There are a few places to be aware of in this area or rather places to visit and they are as follows. Inland slightly can be found the Hill of Santa Cruz with its monument of a piper found on it and also can be found the former bastion and temple of La Atalaya. On the coast, the beach of As Catedrais is known for its extremely beautiful rock formations that act as a reminder of Gothic buildings and arches found elsewhere.

For those who wish to explore the waters of the ria whether this be for fishing, swimming, diving or whatever you can actually get a pleasure boat from the nearby small port of Porcillan to take you out there.

There are some extremely interesting buildings and sites that could be seen in the area if you are interested in historic buildings. Nearby you can see the Colegiata de Santa Maria del Campo which was built in various stages between the 13th and the 18th Centuries. Of particular note and well worth seeing are the two baroque altarpieces. Inside the building are a variety of structural elements that date from earlier parts of the construction of which the two huge gothic portals and various Romanesque arches are worth seeing.

It is possibly only when you travel around Galicia that you appreciate the depth and variety of some of the splendid architecture that can be found there. Of course, as befits a country where religion plays such a dominant part in society the majority of the architecture is all church-based.

In this vein if you move 10 km west of Ribadeo you will find the fishing town of Foz. Nearby to Foz, taking our architectural theme to the forefront again you will find the following large Romanesque style church of Iglesia de San Martin Mondonedo. Yet again another fine building well worth checking out and once again it is interesting to note the degree of attention to detail that all of these buildings had when constructed and also how well the structures have stood the test of time. All buildings age, it is the way of things but it seems that the modern day architect and builder has a lot to learn from our forefathers when it comes to designing and building structures that are made to last.

Lastly lest you get the impression that all there is to this part of Galicia is travelling around looking at huge old historic churches, as has been mentioned before for the family there are a whole series of really fine beaches running alongside these Coast and these are also something that are well worth checking out.