Declared a Natural Monument in 2002, As Covas da Andía are located 8 km. from A Caridá, in the village of Andía, parish of Arancedo.
The natural monument is located in a sheltered valley of limestone rock, where there was gold mining in Roman times (1st and 2nd centuries AD). These mining works exposed karst galleries which, over more than 500 million years, water had opened up in the interior of the limestone formation. The unique microclimate of this area has favoured the formation of a dense, shady forest, with a mixture of Atlantic and Mediterranean vegetation. All this gives rise to rocky outcrops with high vertical walls, deep channels where tree formations climb, impermeable clay mantles, capricious shapes of cavities with curved outlines, smooth profiles and mineralisations that provide a wide range of colours.