Courel , natural heritage of Galicia

The  Courel mountain range covers 21,020 hectares and is geologically the most complete of the Galician mountain ranges, its foothills extending into the neighboring province of León. Deep valleys, covered in dense vegetation where Mediterranean and Atlantic forests meet, alternate with high peaks exceeding 1,500 meters in altitude. Between these peaks lie woodlands populated with chestnut, oak, yew, beech, ash, alder, hazel, holly, and other trees, providing habitat for a great diversity of fauna.

The origin of the name Courel may be pre-Romanesque, while other theories suggest it may derive from *aureum* (gold) due to the large number of open-pit mines operated by the Romans. During their time in these lands, they took advantage of this wealth thanks to the power of the rivers and sophisticated engineering works such as the "ruina montium," a system by which they extracted gold.

The municipality of Folgoso do Courel occupies most of the O Courel mountain range and comprises the parishes of Esperante, Folgoso, Horreos, Meiraos, Noceda, Seceda, Seoane, Vilamor, and Visuña.Within its 193.4 km², in addition to the nine parishes, there are more than 50 villages, inhabited by approximately 989 residents according to the 2022 INE census. Until 1940, the municipal capital was Seoane; since then, it has been Folgoso, located 85 km from the provincial capital, Lugo. The Lugo municipalities of Quiroga, O Incio, Pobra do Brollón, Samos, Triacastela and Pedrafita do Cebreiro and the Leonese municipalities of Barjas, Vega de Valcarce and Oencia, have some part of their territory within the foothills of the mountain range.