Environment

A Guarda is a coastal town with a great wealth of heritage. It is the first town in Galicia on the Portuguese Coastal Road, at the mouth of the river Miño. It is the beginning of the stage A Guarda – Oia. It has a great wealth of heritage, culture and environment. It is a unique enclave where sea, mountain and river converge.

Places to visit in A Guarda

A Guarda has an archaeological site of about 20 hectares. Located at the top of Monte Trega (also known as Monte Tecla), it is a reference point in terms of castreña-Roman culture in the north-west of the Peninsula. Its origins date back to the 4th century BC.
In addition to the castros, Monte Trega has two peaks, O Facho and San Francisco, from which you can see the mouth of the Miño, Portugal, O Rosal and of course, the Atlantic Ocean and A Guarda.
On the mountain itself you can visit the MASAT (Archaeological Museum of Santa Trega) where you will find all the information on the citation of Santa Trega.
In addition to the archaeological and scenic interest, it also has a religious value, as you can find the hermitage of Santa Trega, the cross of San Francisco and the “Via Crucis”.

Santa Cruz Castle is a fortress built around 1664. It belongs to the defensive network that was built around the mouth of the Miño following the War of Independence of the seventeenth century between Spain and Portugal. This fortress had a chapel, barracks, warehouses, courts… To learn more about it, its buildings, function and history, there is an Interpretation Centre within the walled enclosure and information tables.

A Guarda is located in a unique natural environment, the mouth of the Miño River into the Atlantic Ocean. It is surrounded by water and has four fluvial beaches: O Muiño, A Lamiña, O Codesal and A Armona; and three maritime beaches: Area Grande, Fedorento and O Carreiro. The main characteristic of the fluvial beaches is that the water level and salinity changes due to the tides. The maritime beaches offer marvellous views of the sea and the sunset.

The most important natural area of A Guarda is the Estuario del Miño. The mouth of the river forms an estuary and is considered one of the most important wetlands of the Iberian Peninsula with the confluence of two ecosystems, the fluvial and the maritime. It is also a space for protection and ornithological observation. It has bird observatories and a hiking route (route PRG160) along the mouth of the river Miño.

In A Guarda the presence of the sea is very important, not only in terms of landscape and history, but also economically. In the port of A Guarda is the nave de las redeiras, where they make fishing nets and handicrafts. The Cofraría de Pescadores also has its headquarters and the Lonja, where the auction of fresh fish takes place every day. In addition, there are two dams, which are representative of A Guarda.
For eating and walking, there is the Paseo Marítimo, which ends at the Museo del Mar.
In addition, there are two hiking trails that lead to ancient Cetáreas and Salinas, of great heritage value.

More info on the tourism website of A Guarda

pictures of a guarda