{"id":745,"date":"2026-09-25T07:56:38","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T05:56:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nueva.concellodapobradobrollon.gal\/?page_id=745"},"modified":"2026-09-25T07:58:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T05:58:09","slug":"rain-cave","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/concellodapobradobrollon.gal\/en\/cova-das-choias\/","title":{"rendered":"Cave of the Choias"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>GUIDED TOURS SUMMER 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From the City Council of A Pobra do Broll\u00f3n we offer guided tours in July and August to Cova das Choias, Vilach\u00e1 de Salvadur (traditional wineries and Os Conventos) and the Castro de San Lourenzo.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/concellodapobradobrollon.gal\/en\/gl\/new\/visitas-guiadas-ver%c3%a1n-2020-dese%c3%b1a-o-teu-percorrido\/\">Click here for more information.<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Cova das Choias is located in Biduedo, in the parish of \u00d3utara. The cave is a natural cave, one of the most unique spaces in the Lemos region. It is possible that in Roman times the cave was altered by man for the extraction of iron ore. It is known that it was intensively exploited, especially in the 16th and 17th centuries, supplying the smithies of the region, mainly the now-defunct Biduedo smithy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Currently, the cavity has an extraordinary natural wealth in a vulnerable situation: luminescent moss and a population of different bat communities unique in Galicia. The&nbsp;<strong>moss<\/strong>&nbsp;which gives the cavity its green color has the peculiarity that it has filaments that reflect emerald green light, producing the visual illusion of&nbsp;<strong>luminescence.<\/strong>&nbsp;The presence of this moss in the Iberian Peninsula is documented in a dozen locations. Due to the fragility of the habitats it occupies, this species is included in the Galician Catalogue of Threatened Species as a vulnerable species. We must never extract or step on it to guarantee the necessary conditions of darkness and humidity and so that future generations can continue to admire it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"530\" src=\"http:\/\/concellodapobradobrollon.gal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/BURACA_GRAL_PEQ.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-746\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.509433962264151;width:800px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/concellodapobradobrollon.gal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/BURACA_GRAL_PEQ.jpg 800w, https:\/\/concellodapobradobrollon.gal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/BURACA_GRAL_PEQ-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/concellodapobradobrollon.gal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/BURACA_GRAL_PEQ-768x509.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And on the other hand, the birds that inhabit it. The cave gets its name, the Choias, from the presence of these birds of the corvid family, which traditionally occupied the cavity. A few years ago it was thought that they had disappeared, but the measures taken for the conservation of the different species mean that today we can see the choias again. The cavity is also inhabited by different&nbsp;<strong>bat species<\/strong>, the cave bat stands out, which has the largest known colony here in Galicia, and the large horseshoe bats that occupy the cave in autumn. These species are in a vulnerable situation and the simple human presence can be detrimental to the conservation of these colonies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The cave can be accessed through a large entrance that is more than 30 meters high. The cavities form 3 levels that represent more than 200 meters of travel with several dead-end galleries, in addition to artificial galleries for the extraction of iron. Access to the cave is only allowed on guided tours organized by the city council. You can only access the main entrance of the cave, since without knowledge in speleology, access to the caves is dangerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"398\" height=\"600\" src=\"http:\/\/concellodapobradobrollon.gal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/BURACA_GRAL_II_PEQ.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-747\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.6631299734748011;width:500px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/concellodapobradobrollon.gal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/BURACA_GRAL_II_PEQ.jpg 398w, https:\/\/concellodapobradobrollon.gal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/BURACA_GRAL_II_PEQ-199x300.jpg 199w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 398px) 100vw, 398px\" \/><\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>VISITAS GUIADAS VER\u00c1N 2020 Dende o Concello da Pobra do Broll\u00f3n ofrecemos visitas guiadas en xullo e agosto a Cova das Choias,&nbsp;Vilach\u00e1 de Salvadur (adegas tradicionais e Os Conventos) e&nbsp;o Castro de San Lourenzo.&nbsp;Preme aqu\u00ed para m\u00e1is informaci\u00f3n. A Cova das Choias at\u00f3pase en Biduedo, na parroquia de \u00d3utara. A cova \u00e9 unha gruta de [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":750,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-745","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/concellodapobradobrollon.gal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/concellodapobradobrollon.gal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/concellodapobradobrollon.gal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/concellodapobradobrollon.gal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/concellodapobradobrollon.gal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=745"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/concellodapobradobrollon.gal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/745\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":749,"href":"https:\/\/concellodapobradobrollon.gal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/745\/revisions\/749"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/concellodapobradobrollon.gal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/concellodapobradobrollon.gal\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}