Alto do Príncipe and the Queen's Chair

A short climb across the island of Monteagudo, the northern one, to the Queen's Chair (Cadeira da Raíña in Galician), a seat-shaped rock that wind and salt spray have carved on the western cliff. From the top you take in at once Rodas beach, the lake, the Faro island with its lighthouse high above and the open Atlantic. The National Park guide gives it 1.7 km from the information hut, next to the jetty, and about 45 minutes one way.

The path

The route is waymarked in blue. It leaves along the track that starts to the right of the information hut and climbs gently up the east face of Monteagudo. The first thing that appears, on the right, is the Figueiras-Muxieiro dune complex, one of the best preserved in the park: here grow the white-berried camariña and the herba de namorar (Armeria pungens), which has its northernmost point in the Cíes. Do not step on the dunes; they are admired from the track.

A detour goes down to Figueiras beach, traditionally naturist, with a view of the Costa da Vela on the mainland. Back on the track, about 20 minutes from the start, you reach the island's main junction. That slope is covered with acacias and eucalyptus planted in the 1950s, but towards the estuary there is a small wood of Pyrenean oaks (Quercus pyrenaica), the last remnant of the islands' native woodland, which the park is trying to restore.

From the junction you continue along the track on the left. The trees give way to scrub, because of the wind and the thin soil, and the last 100 metres are a path between sculpted rocks up to the chair. The 2015 leaflet gives a maximum ascent of 122 m; the 2024 one puts it at 95 m and 35 minutes one way. It is a climb that anyone used to walking can do, in closed shoes.

What you see from the chair

Opposite, the Cíes lighthouse above the 175 m of cliff of the Faro island. On one side, the calm bay of Rodas, the Lago dos Nenos and the east slope, with trees; on the other, the almost bare west face, battered by the ocean. It is the best way to understand why these islands protect the Ría de Vigo like a breakwater. With children, keep to the path.

When and how to combine it

If you only have half a day, it is the best ratio of effort to view. At the end of the afternoon, with the sun sinking over the Atlantic, the light is at its best, but work out your return so as not to miss the last boat. There are no springs or shade at the top in the last stretch; bring water.

The first part coincides with the Monteagudo route, waymarked in red, which from the junction continues north to the bird observatory and the Peito lighthouse: 2.5 km one way and an hour. If you have the whole day, do both in the morning and leave the Monte Faro route or an afternoon at Rodas beach for later. To get there, see the boat to the Cíes and the Xunta permit.