Santiago Natural
The relationship between Santiago’s urban center and its natural surroundings is exceptional. From almost any point in the city, perspectives open up revealing the green masses of trees in urban parks, or the meadows and forests of the surrounding hills. The city is nestled between three main hills –Pedroso, Viso, and Gaiás– and is composed of small hills. All these elevations serve as natural viewpoints over the urban core and the omnipresent Cathedral. Two small rivers, Sar and Sarela, encircle the city. The paths that run along their banks, once covered with water mills and traditional tanning factories, along with those that traverse the forest park of Mount Pedroso, and the Gaiás and Viso hills, form a network of pleasant natural walks easily accessible on foot from the center. As for parks and green spaces, the area dedicated to this use speaks for itself: more than 5 million square meters – which means an average of 50 m2 per inhabitant, higher than the European average – making Santiago a city of great environmental and landscape quality with multiple environmental recognitions. But Santiago is much more than its urban core: the total municipal area is 223 km2, which includes 21 rural parishes. Additionally, the Santiago municipality is part of a natural region, watered by two of the main Galician rivers, the Tambre and the Ulla – famous for their trout, chub, and salmon – very suitable for practicing multiple river sports, and with wonderful river beaches, recreational areas, and trails less than 15 minutes by car from the city. RECOMMENDED TRAILS To give you an idea of Santiago’s natural appeal, here we propose a catalog of 9 natural trails accessible on foot from the city center, of short and medium duration and little or no difficulty, designed to be completed in a couple of hours or half a day at most, and aimed at families with children, pets, people with reduced mobility, cycle tourists, or more experienced hikers.