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Las Medulas

| Province of Léon, Spain
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Type: Historic Sites
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40 reviews from our community

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Madrid
Top Contributor
64 reviews 64 reviews
46 attraction reviews
Reviews in 23 cities Reviews in 23 cities
42 helpful votes 42 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed May 5, 2013

This place is pretty much out of the way (the nearest large town is Ponferrada), but it is certainly worth going to see. It is the most remarkable testimony to the effects of the Roman occupation of Spain. An entire mountain was blown apart over two and a half centuries to extract the tiny amount of gold in the rock... More

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Okehampton, United Kingdom
Senior Contributor
31 reviews 31 reviews
18 attraction reviews
Reviews in 24 cities Reviews in 24 cities
17 helpful votes 17 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed December 5, 2012

A wonderful place to visit, right on the edge of the Montanes de Leon, not far from Ponferrada. The site was recommended by a Portuguese colleague, as worth driving some miles for, and we agree with his assessment. Go to the village of Las Medulas first, go to the museum, where they explain how the mining of the entire mountain... More

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Buea, Cameroon
Senior Contributor
25 reviews 25 reviews
3 attraction reviews
Reviews in 21 cities Reviews in 21 cities
19 helpful votes 19 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed August 25, 2012

It is located a few kilometres from Ponferrada, beyond the lake Carucedo is Las Médulas, natural wonders indeed - created by the Romans, who dug gold. 60,000 slaves for 250 years had produced 1,650,000 kg of gold (5,000,000 Roman pounds). They led the water through canals, which were dug up and hence arose incredibly bizarre landscape of jagged mountains, caves... More

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Illinois
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14 reviews 14 reviews
Reviews in 14 cities Reviews in 14 cities
16 helpful votes 16 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed August 26, 2011

As Medulas is a small town outside Ponferrada located right at the site where the Romans let loose with a ton of water and blew the insides out of mountains as they searched for gold. The town is dedicated exclusively to tourism surrounding the site. There is one ugly modern box hotel and one "rural hotel" Agoga which is pleasant,... More

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hamburg
Senior Contributor
38 reviews 38 reviews
6 attraction reviews
Reviews in 18 cities Reviews in 18 cities
23 helpful votes 23 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed January 30, 2011

After having eaten a big menu of cocido in the medieval town Castrillo de los Polvazares, we overcame our sluggishness and decided to drive over to see the legendary Medulas hills. In Roman times, the area was the most important gold mine. Already then, a river had been diverted, and transformed into a powerful jet, that could cut up mountains.... More

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leeds
2 reviews
Reviews in 2 cities Reviews in 2 cities
4 of 5 stars Reviewed October 23, 2009

If you like nature, visit this site. It is amazing to think that the Romans destroyed the mountain to obtain the small quantity of gold embedded in it. Their engineering was interesting, forcing water into the mountain until it exploded. Don't try to visit it in the afternoon in summer, it is much too hot! Do visit the lago de... More

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Burgos, Spain
Top Contributor
51 reviews 51 reviews
28 attraction reviews
Reviews in 22 cities Reviews in 22 cities
24 helpful votes 24 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed May 6, 2013
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Pola de Siero, Spain
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12 reviews 12 reviews
Reviews in 9 cities Reviews in 9 cities
5 of 5 stars Reviewed April 22, 2013 via mobile
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Galicia
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7 reviews 7 reviews
Reviews in 7 cities Reviews in 7 cities
10 helpful votes 10 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed April 19, 2013
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Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
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12 reviews 12 reviews
8 attraction reviews
Reviews in 8 cities Reviews in 8 cities
3 helpful votes 3 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed April 15, 2013
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