Melón is a small municipality in the province of Ourense, along the river Cerves. We went there for one reason, to walk the trail that follows the river to the Pozas de Melón and on to the Fervenza de Tourón, one of the taller waterfalls in the province. That was about a year ago, in winter.
Getting there is straightforward. Coming off the A-52 at the Melón-Quins exit, the N-120 takes you the rest of the way, with signs pointing you toward the trailhead once you are close. Parking was not an issue. There is enough space near the start of the walk, and in winter there is more of it going spare than there probably is in summer, when the pools bring people down from Ourense to swim. We also passed a few picnic spots along the river, tables and clearings that were empty when we went by and clearly meant for a different season than the one we chose.
Melón itself is worth a stop before or after the walk. The village has an old Cistercian monastery, Santa María de Melón, along with a church next to it, and both are worth a look if you have the time. We did not turn it into a long visit, just enough to see what was there before heading back to the car.
The walk is around seven kilometres, though we would not put money on that number a year later. Most of it follows the river without much trouble, but some stretches are a proper scramble, especially where the path runs close to the water over wet rock. Winter did not help there. We slowed down and took those bits seriously.
About halfway, the Fervenza de Tourón shows up, dropping through a narrow gorge in a way photos do not really capture. There was more water coming down than a summer visit would have given us, which made the moment land harder than we expected. We stood there a while before moving on.
If you want the waterfall at its best and the trail mostly to yourselves, winter is the way to go, as long as you accept a harder walk underfoot in a few places. It is not a long or steep route, but it does ask for some care, more so in that season. We are already talking about doing it again in summer, just to see how much of a different walk it turns out to be.
