Zone declared SAC (Special Area of Conservation) of 1.124 hectares, shared with the municipalities of Agolada, Vila de Cruces and Lalín where parishes of A Veiga, Cadrón, Galegos, Muimenta, Parada and Rodís are included. It stretches for part of the hillsides and the valley of the Arnego river, up to its river mouth in Portodemouros's reservoir, in the Ulla river.
Cork oak, present in Galicia only in the zones most sheltered of fluvial valleys, has in the shores of this river, one of the best preserved mixed and more extensive forest of community. Some specimen come up to 25 meters of height. The existence of this species (and another ones like arbutus) is possible in this zone because of climatic conditions of Mediterranean type.
For centuries, the extracted bark from these cork oaks was taken for different uses like the manufacturing of bee utensils or utensils for bee-keeping (hives). This zone continue supporting the tradition of extracting the bark, labour carried out by portuguese specialists because Portugal has a great bee-keeping tradition.
Some species of fauna, threatened, find in this place a refuge for its survival, specially those associated with the course of river as otter, musk rat or mussel of river that has in “Arnego”, one of its last baby populations of all Europe.
