The Deputación launches a guided tour programme through the therapeutic woods of Pontevedra
This year the Deputación de Pontevedra celebrated World Environment Day with a new initiative that, according to President Carmela Silva, presents “a new way of deeply connecting with nature”. “Therapeutic woods” is a programme aimed at “combining nature, exercise, health, culture, and history” that will promote interpretative guided tours to five forest parks of the province of Pontevedra this summer: Freaza (Fornelos), A Picaraña (Ponteareas), Cabo Udra (Bueu), Camposancos (A Guarda), and Costa de Oia e Serra da Groba (Oia).
The well-known artist Sergio Portela, the expert Isabel Fernández, and the forest engineer Alfredo Agra proposed this idea, which will be carried out by the Deputación. All of them have built their careers around sustainability.
The programme “Therapeutic woods” will combine guided tours to five forest parks with the interpretation of their heritage elements, such as archaeological sites, traditional structures and recreational areas. “We are offering visitors the possibility of enjoying with their senses genuine baths in the woods, an innovative project in Galicia and in Spain, even though some eastern countries such as Japan or those in Northern Europe have this tradition”, the President of the Deputación explained the day when the project was launched.
This summer, from 18th July to 27th September, the project will offer 30 visits to the parks, six to each of them, for up to 450 people in total (15 for each route due to COVID-19 restrictions). These visits will be suitable for all citizens.
Picaraña mountain
Groba´s mountain
Each route will have a main theme, depending on the features and the values of each space. All activities will revolve around this theme and the tour guide will be Isabel Fernández, an expert in projects related to heritage promotion and interpretation, and sustainable tourism.
The chosen parks will be included in the recovery and enhancement programme of these spaces financed by the provincial institution over the past few years. The President also stressed that “a significant part of the new economy will be linked to nature, which has values that we can develop by being very respectful with the environment and by working to improve it and leave a 21st century human trace”.
