Mouth of the River Lérez:
Landscape and creation
What a journey the water that falls where this river is born makes! The Lérez is born in one of the areas with the highest annual rainfall in Spain, and meanders through valleys and mountains until it reaches the sea in the city of Pontevedra.
Is its water salty or clear? Well, it depends a lot on the tide and where you ask. In the upper part of the city it is completely twelve, but in the central area, in As Corvaceiras, the sailors must already know the draught of their boat and the state of the tide to access it.
From Pontevedra’s peirao to the mouth of the Ría de Pontevedra, you will be able to observe a channel marked by rocky lines that mark the access area for boats in its interior and in whose exterior you will be able to see a large number of waders feeding between the areas.
Recommendations:
Take a look at the village of Tambo facing the Pontevedra estuary. A place full of history and of great repercussion in the coastal towns.
In this place you might even spot some golfiños! Take a look around in case you are lucky…
Get your binoculars ready! Enjoy an area full of waders and passerines that will make your walk an infinity of feelings.
Nearby places:
Nearby QRs:
Webs of interest:
https://turismoriasbaixas.com/gl/recursopan1?content=280378746
More information:
Listed as a SCI (Site of Community Interest) along its course, the River Lérez arrives in Pontevedra loaded with water that seeks its conversion to salt water. The River Lérez rises in the Sierra del Candán, a mountain range in the inland area of Pontevedra where annual rainfall exceeds 2000 mm, which means that its flows are maintained in summer but increase considerably in winter.
In the highest parts it has waterfalls, rapids and maintained slopes, which make it a lively and fun river. Its continuous zig-zagging takes it through the province of Pontevedra while other rivers yield their waters to it (some of them with an important flow such as the Calvos, Almofrei or Tenorio) and in its last 15 kilometres it loses its gradient and transforms completely, becoming a relaxed and calm river, which generates places suitable for bathing and enjoying the surroundings.
The fauna and flora vary as much as the river.
At its source, the mountain range supports the life of elusive fauna, which finds in these almost unpopulated places a place of shelter and hiding place to keep themselves safe: foxes, horses or wolves that drink in the waters of the River Lérez. The vegetation is typical of mountainous areas, with different ecosystems depending on their orientation: scrubland and heathland accompanied by stone, mixed with oak groves and areas of well-preserved Atlantic forest: oak and alder trees in the highlands, holly trees in the middle zone, broom and other species of trees.
In its middle areas there are more anthropised places, but we can still find salmon or otters in its waters and, linked to its freshness, riverside woodland, where unfortunately invasive species are beginning to appear and are starting to be eradicated.
And in its final stretch, when it comes into contact with the salt waters of the Pontevedra Estuary, the splendour of biodiversity is generated, and numerous birds, saltwater animals such as crabs, mussels or caramujos can be observed, and we can even spot pods of dolphins playing in front of Tambo Island.
Nowadays, you can see a large number of boats anchored in the area, the marina upstream and even canoeists or rowers are common in these places, who find in this place the ideal place to practice their sport in total contact with the river.