Ezaro Waterfall

The Xallas is often described as the only river in continental Europe that falls straight into the sea, dropping off the granite of Mount Pindo at Ezaro in a fall of about forty metres onto the shore of the ria. A hydroelectric plant built in the 1900s diverted the water and for decades the fall ran dry; since 2011 an agreement releases water at set times, generally at weekends and in the evenings during the summer season, when the fall is also floodlit in changing colours. A viewing platform, a walkway and a path up beside the fall have been built. Mount Pindo above, a mass of pink granite rising over six hundred metres straight from the sea, is known locally as the Celtic Olympus.

What you actually see

• The sea-fall - a river dropping directly onto the shore of the ria.
• The scheduled releases - water let through at announced times.
• Mount Pindo - pink granite rising over six hundred metres behind.
• The evening floodlighting - coloured illumination during the summer season.

When to go

October to May for natural flow after rain; in summer the fall depends entirely on scheduled releases, usually at weekends and evenings, and the timetable is published locally. Outside those windows it is dry.

Honest expectations

The fall is often dry, since the water is diverted for power and released only on a schedule; arriving unannounced frequently means seeing bare rock. The coloured floodlighting divides opinion. Parking is limited.

Nearby

Mount Pindo rises directly above; Fisterra and the Costa da Morte lie north.