Silleda: Trails along the Deza, nature and Romanesque architecture

Silleda: trails, architectural history and nature

When planning a stay in Silleda, there are several specific themes to choose from: trails along the Deza, Romanesque and pre-Romanesque churches, protected landscapes, and a festival featuring food, music, cultural and traditional activities. When looking for a hotel in Silleda, these themes can help you organise your interests for your stay. Each destination differs in whether the focus is on a route, a building, a natural area or a festival.

Trails through the municipality

The Sendeiro do Deza is an easy route. It runs on foot through specially protected areas along the Deza River and connects the Fervenza do Toxa waterfall with the Carboeiro Monastery. In doing so, it links the river and protected nature with a Romanesque monastery complex. If you would like to combine scenery and cultural heritage on an outing, this route offers a specific starting point.

The Mozarabic Way, also called the Vía da Prata, offers a different point of reference. Its route through the municipality of Silleda covers 11 kilometres. The two routes answer different planning questions: for the Mozarabic Way, the length of the section through the municipality is specified; the Sendeiro do Deza is distinguished by its low difficulty, its riverside course and the connection between two destinations. The 11 kilometres refer to the route through Silleda.

Romanesque and pre-Romanesque churches

The Iglesia de Santiago de Taboada is a 13th-century Romanesque church. Its notable architectural features include capitals and archivolts. Capitals form the upper part of columns or pillars; archivolts are the mouldings that follow the curve of an archway. These terms give you specific ways to look at the architecture, not only by its style but also through its individual features.

Carboeiro Monastery is one of Galicia’s most distinctive Romanesque complexes. The tourist information point at the monastery provides information about its history and architecture, as well as the surrounding routes. This brings the building itself, its historical context and the nearby trails into focus as separate topics.

Ansemil is home to a pre-Romanesque monastic church that belonged to the Monastery of San Pedro de Ansemil. It is also part of the Romanesque Route. Compared with the Romanesque Iglesia de Santiago de Taboada, Ansemil therefore has a different architectural-historical classification. Both churches offer a specific way to explore Silleda’s architectural history, without conflating their distinct style labels.

Wetland and oak grove

The Brañas de Xestoso area includes the Sacra de Olives lagoon. It lies in a hollow at an altitude of about 650 metres and forms part of a wetland. The lagoon usually dries up in summer. If you are planning your trip for this season, bear this seasonal detail in mind when considering what the landscape will look like.

The Carballeira de Trasfontao is an oak grove with centuries-old trees near the Pazo de Trasfontao. It provides a habitat for the stag beetle, considered Europe’s largest beetle. This natural area thus brings together ancient oaks and a specific ecological theme. The stag beetle is described as an inhabitant of the oak grove, not as something visitors are guaranteed to see.

Festival culture in Silleda

The Festa da Empanada da Bandeira has been declared a festival of national tourist interest. A municipal announcement for 2026 mentions food, music, cultural and traditional activities. The festival adds a culinary and cultural focus to the themes of trails, architecture and nature; the activities mentioned are tied to that announcement for 2026.

Discover more destinations: Lantañón, Salceda, Carbia, Poio, San Bieito, Goián, Lantaño, Costoia.

For the broader travel overview: Pontevedra.