What you can see on the Ribeira Sacra webcams
The regional weather service has two still cameras here. One, at the village of Cristosende, looks into the Sil canyon, with the river far below between its steep walls; the other, at the viewpoint of Cabo do Mundo, looks over the great horseshoe bend of the Miño around a wooded hill. Both are about the landscape, the light and the weather.
Into the Sil canyon from Cristosende
Cristosende is a stone village perched on the southern rim of the Sil canyon, and MeteoGalicia's camera there looks along the gorge. In the foreground are a small stone building and old terrace walls; below, the river Sil, held back by dams into a long green lake, winds between slopes that rise hundreds of metres, wooded on one side and stepped with vineyards on the sunny one.
The canyon is the heart of the Ribeira Sacra, and in season catamarans cruise the river between its walls. The camera shows whether the gorge is clear or full of cloud, and in the morning and evening how the light falls along it. Still image, not video.
The great loop of the Miño at Cabo do Mundo
Cabo do Mundo, "the end of the world", is a viewpoint in the Ribeira Sacra where the river Miño, wide and still here, swings in a tight horseshoe around a steep, wooded hill. MeteoGalicia's camera looks straight out over the bend: the dark water curving in from the left and back out to the right, the hill in the middle laced with tracks, and terraced slopes and scattered farms climbing the far side.
The picture is all about light and weather. Mist can lie in the gorge on cool mornings before burning off, the woods change colour through the autumn, and the low evening sun picks out the terraces. Still image, not video.
Monks, wine and gold
The name comes from the monasteries founded along these rivers in the early Middle Ages, and the monks planted many of the vineyards that still cling to the slopes, some so steep that the grapes have to be harvested and carried by hand. The wine region has had its own official designation since 1996, best known for red wines made from the Mencía grape. The Romans were here before them, mining gold from the Sil. In the Sil canyon the walls rise more than 500 m (1,640 ft) in places, and catamarans run trips along the dammed river between them. The monastery of Santo Estevo de Ribas de Sil, above the canyon, is now a Parador hotel. A local saying holds that the Miño has the fame but the Sil brings the water: at their meeting, the Sil is the bigger river.
When to watch the Ribeira Sacra
The Ribeira Sacra is one hour ahead of the UK and Ireland. Mornings often start with mist in the canyons, which burns off to reveal the river; summer afternoons in the gorges are hot. The grape harvest, in early autumn, is the busiest time on the slopes, and the woods turn gold and red later in the season.
Around the Ribeira Sacra
Ourense, with its hot springs, is the nearest city, and Monforte de Lemos, with its castle and monastery on a hill, is the main town of the wine region. Viewpoints over the Sil, such as the Balcóns de Madrid near Parada de Sil, line the roads along the canyon rim.
Getting to the Ribeira Sacra
Santiago de Compostela airport is about 100 miles (160 km) away, and the canyon roads are narrow and winding, so allow time. Monforte de Lemos and Ourense have railway stations, but a car is the practical way to explore.
