Page 33 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2017 - Northern Spain

A POR TR AIT OF NOR THERN SP AIN  31

Forest Beech martens are shy and
nocturnal, and so hard to see,
Thanks to their remoteness, but are still quite common in
steep terrain and rainfall, huge the lower forests. Asleep during
areas of the northern moun- the day, they emerge at night to
tains are still clad in forest. feed on fruit, nuts and some times
Mainly of beech, chestnut, small mammals and birds.
ash and Pyrenean oak, they
are among Europe’s oldest The woods of Galicia, dense
broadleaf forests. They are and often shrouded in rain
also the refuge of Spain’s and Atlantic mists, are closely
rarest birds and wildlife – associated with local folklore,
wildcats, wolves and bears. as the homes of witches and
Celtic spirits and fairies.

Gold and russet colours spread
across the broadleaf forests
each autumn. The colours are
richest in the beech woods of
the Basque Country, Navarra
and Asturias.

The brown bears
of Asturias – the
Rock thrushes are plen tiful last substantial
from spring to autumn. bear population in
Feeding on insects, western Europe –
they can be seen in still number about
the trees around 200, mostly in
meadows and other the Parque Natural
clearings in the woods. de Somiedo.

The Coast
The mountains approach
the sea in cliffs and giant
headlands of granite and slate,
separated by an enormously
varied mix of deep, wooded
inlets, rocky coves, rolling sand
dunes and marshy wetlands.
There are huge seabird
colonies, especially on the tiny
offshore islands. Sheltered
estuaries provide feeding-
grounds for many wading
birds, and are visited by View of the Rías Baixas from Mirador de La Curota, near Noia in Galicia
porpoises and dolphins.
Around Praia das
Catedrais beach, near
Foz in the Rías Altas of
northern Galicia, the
schist and slate cliffs
have been eroded by
the sea into spectacular
rock “cathedrals”.

Sand dunes at Corrubedo
in Galicia

030-031__Feat_.indd 31 13/09/16 5:29 pm