The Sacred Rock and Ancient Carvings

Long before the hillfort was built, Neolithic peoples carved the mountaintop rock with spirals, concentric circles, and parallel lines. The best-known of these engravings, called the Laja Sagrada or Sacred Rock (Laja del Mapa), sits at the highest point of the hill and dates from the final stage of the Galician Neolithic — roughly two thousand years older than the Celtic settlement above it. Several other petroglyphs are scattered across the mountain, some deliberately covered during the construction of the fort.↗↗

The View from the Two Peaks

Santa Trega has two summits, each offering a different perspective on this border landscape. O Facho, at 328 metres, looks south over the O Rosal valley, the town of A Guarda, and its fishing port. In earlier centuries, a signal fire was lit here at night: one flame meant all was safe, two warned of intruders from the sea. San Francisco, the higher peak at 341 metres, faces north-east toward the mouth of the Miño, where Portugal's coastline begins just across the water, and the small island of A Insua where Franciscan monks once lived. The car and bus parking, the hermitage, and MASAT are all located on this upper terrace.↗

Galicia's tourism authority calls the prospect from Santa Trega the best panoramic view of a Celtic hill fort in two countries. On clear days, you can follow the Miño from the river town of Tui down to its broad Atlantic mouth, with the open ocean stretching to the horizon.↗↗

MASAT: The Archaeological Museum at the Summit

The Archaeological Museum of Santa Trega (MASAT) occupies a distinctive building originally designed by the Galician architect Antonio Palacios as a restaurant. The Pro-Monte Society acquired it by popular subscription and converted it into a museum, inaugurated in 1953. Inside, a collection spanning from Palaeolithic tools to Roman-era finds documents the deep human history of the Miño estuary.↗↗

Among the standout pieces are two gold-plated terminals of a Celtic torque decorated with delicate filigree, Roman coins, indigenous and Roman ceramics, coloured glass vessels and beads, and a bronze figure of Hercules — the very first artefact found here in 1862. The Cabezón (Big Head), a sculpted stone head from more recent excavations, has become the most emblematic find from the site.↗↗

The Hermitage and Living Devotion

At the San Francisco summit stands the Hermitage of Santa Trega, a chapel whose roots stretch back to at least the twelfth century, though its current form comes from renovations in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Excavations in 1994 uncovered Visigothic burials beneath the floor, confirming the site's religious significance long before the medieval chapel was built. A sixteenth-century stone cross (cruceiro) dedicated to San Francisco stands in front of the hermitage.↗

Santa Trega remains a living place of devotion for the people of A Guarda. Each September 23rd, families gather on the mountain for a romería — a traditional outdoor feast day honouring Saint Thecla. On the last Saturday of August, a century-old Procession of Voto leads devotees through the stations of a modern Via Crucis sculpted by Valencia-born artist Vincent Mengual.↗

Walking the Mountain

A network of seven footpaths marked and paved across the mountain — collectively known as PR-G 122 Camiños do Trega — covers about seven kilometres in total. They weave between the archaeological zone, viewpoints, petroglyphs, and the hermitage, offering a way to explore the mountain's layers slowly. Guided tours are offered free of charge by the municipal Patronato de la Montaña de Santa Trega, though booking ahead is needed; the itineraries and durations vary by season.↗