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Natural Monuments

Las Médulas

Natural Monuments

Las Médulas

Highlight • Historical Site

Las Médulas

Recommended by 47 hikers out of 48

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Location: Carucedo, Bierzo, León, Castile and León, Spain

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Best Hikes to Las Médulas

4.8

(71)

413

hikers

1. La Cuevona (Las Médulas) – Galerías de Orellán loop from Carucedo

7.21km

02:21

240m

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.

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Moderate

4.8

(52)

200

hikers

2. Las Médulas – Reirigo Cave loop from Carucedo

8.23km

02:55

300m

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.

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Moderate

4.8

(24)

146

hikers

3. Reirigo Cave – Orellán Galleries loop from Carucedo

14.3km

04:19

410m

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.

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Moderate

Tips

JavierCR 🇪🇸

May 23, 2024

Las Médulas, located in Bierzo, northwest of the Montes Aquilanos and along the valley of the Sil River, is a fantastic landscape resulting from Roman gold mining. This place has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Although no one would say that the steep cliffs hide, beneath their bowels, the gold of the Romans, the mining exploitation silenced for centuries has become a beautiful landscape of great tourist attraction.

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🌍S🏆E🐙R🏃‍♂️G🚶‍♂️I🧟‍♂️O🇪🇸

September 10, 2022

Las Médulas is an impressive landscape environment formed as a result of Roman gold mining.

Considered the largest open-pit gold mine in the entire Roman Empire, the engineering work that was carried out to extract the gold considerably altered the environment of the area, resulting in an unusual landscape of reddish sand covered with chestnut and oak trees.

The large earthworks that followed formed artificial plains that serve as access roads to other areas such as Lake Carucedo, formed in turn by the clogging of a valley with mine waste, and considered a protected wetland.

Comfortable shoes, water and a snack are recommended to enjoy the route.

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JakobusPilger

June 19, 2025

When viewing the rock formations of Las Medulas, it's important to remember that this landscape is not natural, but rather the (sad) remains of a mountain range that was ruthlessly exploited for its gold ore as early as the Roman Empire. Nevertheless, this landscape of ruins is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A 15-minute film documentary about it (although only available in German) is available in the ARD media library as part of the highly recommended series "Treasures of the World - Heritage of Humanity" =>> zdf.de/swr/schaetze-der-welt/page-video-ard-las-mdulas-und-seine-goldminen-spanien-100.html

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Details

Informations

Elevation 800 m

Weather

Thursday 11 December

8°C

6°C

97 %

If you start your activity now...

Max wind speed: 2.0 km/h

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See hikes here

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Location: Carucedo, Bierzo, León, Castile and León, Spain

Other Popular Places to Check Out

Cueva de Reirigo

Laguna Larga

Las Médulas Roman Gold Mines

Church of Santiago (Puerta del Perdón), Villafranca del Bierzo

Galería de Orellán

View of Las Médulas

Path to the Tunnel at Las Médulas

View of Villafranca del Bierzo Castle

Las Médulas

La Cuevona (Las Médulas)

Las Médulas

1. La Cuevona (Las Médulas) – Galerías de Orellán loop from Carucedo

2. Las Médulas – Reirigo Cave loop from Carucedo

3. Reirigo Cave – Orellán Galleries loop from Carucedo

Other Popular Places to Check Out

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