The Ribeira Sacra and the Sil Canyon
Galicia, Spain
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Cañón do Sil
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300
XP
+100 Spain
= 400 total
1 day
The Ribeira Sacra and the Sil Canyon
300 + 100 XP
The Ribeira Sacra is the banks of the Cabe, Sil and Miño in southern Lugo and northern Ourense, and the name first appears in a charter of 21 August 1124. The Sil has cut a canyon here so steep that the vineyards are worked in terraces off ladders and boats — it is the textbook case of viticultura heroica. The Romans were already describing the wine as the liquid gold of the Sil. The grape is overwhelmingly Mencía. Santo Estevo de Ribas de Sil above the gorge is now a parador.
Required Activities
1
of 6
Stand at one of the miradoiros above the Sil and look straight down the canyon wall at terraced vines
2
of 6
Work out what heroic viticulture means here: slopes too steep for any machine, worked by hand off terraces and from the river
3
of 6
Taste Mencía, the red that is nine-tenths of what this appellation grows
4
of 6
Go into Santo Estevo de Ribas de Sil and find the Romanesque cloister of the Bishops, named for the nine who came here to die between the 10th and 11th centuries
5
of 6
Find out what happened in late 2020 when restorers opened a reliquary on the high altar and found four of the nine lost bishops' rings inside
6
of 6
Take a catamaran along the canyon to see the terraces from water level, the way the people working them do
Stand at one of the miradoiros above the Sil and look straight down the canyon wall at terraced vines
Work out what heroic viticulture means here: slopes too steep for any machine, worked by hand off terraces and from the river
Taste Mencía, the red that is nine-tenths of what this appellation grows
Go into Santo Estevo de Ribas de Sil and find the Romanesque cloister of the Bishops, named for the nine who came here to die between the 10th and 11th centuries
Find out what happened in late 2020 when restorers opened a reliquary on the high altar and found four of the nine lost bishops' rings inside
Take a catamaran along the canyon to see the terraces from water level, the way the people working them do
Before you go
The canyon roads are narrow, steep and winding with sheer drops — not for a large motorhome. Viewpoints are unfenced.
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About Galicia
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
300 XP
Spain country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
400 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in Spain.
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