Salto do Coro

Salto do Coro was kind of our waterfalling break as we made the long drive between Santiago de Compostela and Ribadeo. Although it wasn’t big (probably 10-15m tall), it had a lush and intimate setting as it seemed like this was one of the more unknown waterfalls to people not familiar with this part of Galicia. Indeed, Julie, Tahia, and I were the only ones here throughout our time spent away from the car on this excursion. Further adding to the scenic allure of this place was that this falls was located near the town of Mondoñedo, which itself was a charming town featuring an attractive cathedral as well as a charming center in a somewhat understated setting, and there were also caves in the vicinity of town.

While I was hoping that our waterfalling excursion would be quick, it turned out that reaching this falls was a little bit tricky because there weren’t signs for it until the very end. I actually had to spend an hour or so just finding the info center (which was pretty much reachable only by foot in the center of town), then figuring out where I was on the map before finding the correct driving route to the falls.

Anyhow, the hike to the falls from the unofficial car park or trailhead (see directions below) was said to take only 10 minutes in each direction according to the tourist literature I was given (and according to the signage here as well). However, I would caveat that by saying that the trail could be a little overgrown in places, and given the tendency of this part of Spain to rain a lot, the trail could also be a bit on the slippery side as well as a little less defined in spots (though it was still quite simple to follow).

The trail meandered gently uphill amidst a dense canopy of vegetation befitting of a temperate rainforest. It seemed like the trail managed to get enough use to at least discern the footpath, but I can easily envision how quickly the vegetation can grow and cover up the worn sections thereby concealing the trail if there were no visitors for a while. Anyhow, the trail would continue climbing while getting a bit steeper of a climb the further up it went. Eventually, the trail reached a bridge traversing the creek responsible for the falls (called Regueiro de Argomoso), and then the trail would climb steeply up some partially concealed stone steps. It was this section that I thought could be slippery and potentially hazardous if not careful.

Finally at the top of the steps, the path ended shortly thereafter at the plunge pool and base of the Salto do Coro. Despite what the signs had said, it took us 50 minutes round trip to cover the hiking and the picture taking.

While driving up to the trailhead, I also noticed that quite a few people were either riding bikes or walking from town to other destinations around the Mondoñedo area. If Salto do Coro was to be walked from town, it would be 9km in each direction, which I’d imagine would take the better part of a day.