Las Medulas

Rome mined gold here from the first century AD using ruina montium, mountain-wrecking: shafts and tunnels were driven into the hillsides, then water brought by aqueducts from up to a hundred kilometres away was released into them, and the pressure collapsed the hill from within, washing the debris into sluices where the gold was recovered. Pliny the Elder, who administered the region, described it. Around 800 kilometres of channel were dug and an estimated hundreds of tonnes of gold extracted over two centuries. What remains is the wreckage: red and orange crags of exposed conglomerate standing above chestnut woods, riddled with tunnels. UNESCO listed it in 1997 as a cultural landscape rather than a natural one.

What you actually see

• The red crags - collapsed hillsides left as pinnacles of orange conglomerate.
• The Roman tunnels - galleries accessible on guided visits at La Cuevona.
• The Orellan viewpoint - the standard overlook across the whole landscape.
• The chestnut woods - trees growing among the mine debris.

When to go

April to June for green and flowers, September to November for chestnuts and autumn colour, which is when the contrast with the red rock is strongest. Summer is hot on the exposed rock and busy.

Honest expectations

The best-known viewpoint at Orellan has limited parking and fills in season. Tunnel visits are guided, ticketed and limited in number. The site is spread out, and seeing it properly means walking several kilometres or driving between points.

Nearby

Ponferrada and its Templar castle are northeast; the Bierzo wine country surrounds the area.