Features
The name of the Cathedrals was born around the 1960s , due to the characteristic rock formations that resemble the arches and buttresses of a cathedral. With a length of about one kilometer, As Catedrais is made up of several portions that are isolated or even disappear at high tide , leaving the main part reduced to a length of 320 m. Also its length is very variable for the same reason, reaching the sea to cover all the sand in many parts, while in others the drought discovers up to 100 m. The most photographed part of the beach, from the island of Xan Galo, corresponds to the area traditionally known as As Carricelas While the part that is left of the main entrance is called Holy Water.
The beach is open with fine white sand, bathed by a moderate swell. Some years he has a Blue Flag . It is a place of pilgrimage to visit its arches and cliffs, including the various eyes (furnas), the arch of the island of Xan Galo and the cave of O Chinelo, at the level of the sand, and to admire the whole from the path of the high of the cliff.
Among its arches are hidden a large number of species of algae, mollusks, birds and plants, currently under study through an agreement between the municipality of Ribadeo and the University of Santiago de Compostela .
The rocky base is about 500 million years old, since it suffered successive floods and retreats from the sea. Their layers of different hardness and successive fractures in different directions have facilitated the erosive action to show the image they present today.
They are part of the flora on the cliff the grass of courtship, sea parsley, gorse or heather. At the bottom, red algae and corallines accompany lichens. Most numerous representatives of birds are seagulls and cormorants. And as fauna attached to the substrate, barnacles, mussels, flames and periwinkles.
Access and services
It is also seen : Special zone of conservation the Cathedrals .
It has easy access by the N-634 , from Ribadeo to San Cosme de Barreiros and taking the detour to As Catedrais beach in Reinante. It also has local tracks parallel to the coast and also railway service through the Esteiro and Reinante stops ( Renfe - FEVE ). In 2019 it is planned to build a specific stop for the beach.
The beach is guarded by a rescue team; there are daily cleaning services, and less than 500 m. In the area there are restaurants, hostels, hotels and other public services (walkways, parking lots etc ...). Other services of the beach are the showers and toilets, besides the signaling of the state of the sea. Very close to it are the marinas of Ribadeo and Foz . And in the event of accidents, the Costa-Burela Regional Hospital is in charge of attending to them.
The most noticeable thing about this beach are 300 meters from the sea cliffs holes that form a few arches similar to the flying buttresses of Gothic cathedrals (origin of its current name), and that can only be seen with the tide low. The beach is protected by those of San Miguel de Reinante ( Barreiros ), Esteiro, As Illas, Os Castros, Areosa and Olga (all of Ribadeo), which, in turn, give name and form the ZEC As Catedrais , a protected natural area.
The place was declared a natural monument by the Xunta de Galicia in 2005 . It is framed in the area of the Natura 2000 Network as a special conservation area (ZEC ES 1120005) and is within the Río Eo, Ozcos and Terras de Burón Biosphere Reserve.
In the year 2008 was chosen as the best beach in Europe by travel website most frequently consulted on the European Union , --Youvox Voyage--, which conducted a survey on 8,000 beaches in the world.
In 2012 he was chosen by Traveler's Choice as the best beach in Spain, second in Europe and sixth worldwide .
The accumulation of views in the summer meant that in 2015 a controversial plan was launched by the Xunta de Galicia, to restrict access, with online application for passes, complemented by passes for overnight stays in Ribadeo, Ribadeo-praia bus users and other possibilities.
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