Pyrenees Atlantiques Hiking Routes

Route 12 Path of the Caves

• Departure: Urdazubi/Urdax
• Distance: 6,75 km
• Unevenness: 100 m

LINEAR PATH THAT JOINS THE IKABURU, ZUGARRAMURDI AND SARA CAVES, BETWEEN MEADOWS, DISPERSED HOMES AND FORESTS OF CENTENARY CHESTNUTS AND OAKS THAT COVER THIS ROUTE, AN ANCIENT SCENARIO OF CROSS-BORDER SMUGGLING AND THE WITNESS OF AK THE WITNESS OF AKELARRES.

In addition to the beacons of the local trail (green and white), the route is indicated with the image of a horse as a cave painting. The entrance to the caves is paid. The start of the route is located in the recreational area of ​​the Ikaburu Cave (Urdazubi / Urdax). After a stretch of cement track and forest path, we pass a marble quarry on the left and cross the karst rocky area of ​​Berroberria, which leads to an area of ​​scattered farmhouses around the San Esteban hermitage. Between grasslands we reach Zugarramurdi, from where we descend to the Akelarrea Caves and cross the Infernuko Erreka bridge (“Stream of Hell”). Amongst groves of hundred-year-old trees and small caves that kept smuggling caches, the end of the route is reached at the Sara caves, whose visit is dedicated to the Basque anthropologist José Miguel de Barandiarán.

Of interest

Caves with magic

More than 400 years ago they were temples of magical orgies and rituals, of legends and superstitions. In a more recent era, an office and refuge for smugglers who did their chores on the border with France. Today, its charm prevails for geologists, curious or historians, who feel in the cave the spell of popular history and the charm of nature.

How to get

Highway N-121A to Oronoz and then detour along the NA-121B to Elizondo, Puerto de Otsondo and Urdazubi / Urdax.

Route 13 Abartan

• Departure: Ziga
• Distance: 12,60 km
• Unevenness: 600 m

CIRCULAR PATH THAT AFTER A STEEP ASCENT REACHES THE HIGH PASTURES OF THE COLLADO DE ELORREGI, AT THE FOOT OF ABARTAN, WITNESS OF A MILLENNIAL PASTORAL CULTURE AS WITNESSED BY THE ABUNDANT MEGALITHIC REMAINS. FINALLY, THE PATH UNDOES A SECTION OF THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO IN BAZTAN THROUGH BERROETA, ANIZ AND ZIGA.

The route begins in the lower part of Ziga, a baztandarra town that extends at the foot of its church with its striking Renaissance façade; the palatial air of some houses denotes the importance of the Indians who emigrated to America. After a steep ascent between oak groves and well-kept meadows with their cattle huts, the path crosses a beech forest and reaches the Elorregi pass, with wide grasslands and various megalithic remains (a menhir shortly before reaching the hill); in clear weather you can see the Baztan valley and a good part of the Bidasoa up to the Cantabrian coast. Once the descent has begun, and with great caution in case of fog, the beech forest is crossed by a forest track and, again between manicured pastures and cattle huts, the town of Berroeta is reached, where the path coincides with the Camino de Santiago in its Baztan branch. With hardly any unevenness, and in the opposite direction of the Jacobean route, we leave Aniz on the left to reach, after a wooded section, the town of Ziga.

Of interest

Irurita

Its natural environment and its architectural jewels make this town of just 900 inhabitants one of the most attractive redoubts in the Baztan Valley. The buildings that make up the Plaza de la Duquesa de Goyeneche, the Palace of Gastón de Iriarte from the 18th century, that of Jaureguizuria or the Palace of Dorrea, on the outskirts of the town, make Irurita an emblem of the valley.

How to get

N-121A road to the Belate and Almandoz tunnels. Cross on the right to Ziga passing through Berroeta and Aniz.

Route 14 Xorroxin Urjauzia (Waterfall)

• Departure: Erratzu
• Distance: 5,60 km
• Unevenness:125 m

CIRCULAR PATH BY WHICH YOU ACCESS THE XORROXIN WATERFALL, IN THE IÑARBEGI REGATTA, ONE OF THE BIDASOA SPRINGS. THE SOFT LINES AND COLORS OF THE BAZTAN LANDSCAPE CONTRAST WITH THE THICKNESS AND HUMIDITY OF THE WATERFALL SURROUNDINGS, WHOSE MOST RECOMMENDED TIME TO VISIT IS LATE SPRING.

The beginning is located in the town of Erratzu, with a tight urban area. A narrow paved road leads through meadows to Gorostapolo, a group of hamlets that is well worth a visit. From the hermitage at the entrance, a cobbled path descends and crosses the Iñarbegi stream or stream to gradually enter the interior of the ravine, where hundred-year-old pollarded chestnut trees stand out. After crossing the river again, a path to the left enters the channel that we must wade through (attention: slippery stones) to reach the sonorous waterfall. The entire environment has abundant mosses, lichens and royal ferns that reveal the persistent humidity. The return is done by the same path to the Iñarbegi bridge. Through the Iñarbil neighborhood, you return to Erratzu.

Of interest

Santxotena Museum

The artist Xabier Santxotena offers this open-air space in which his works blend with the green nature of the Baztan valley between Arizkun and Erratzu. The Gorrienea house, the home of his family, has been converted into an ethnographic museum in which we immerse ourselves in the ancient traditions of the Basque farmhouse.

How to get

On the N-121A road to Oronoz and the N-121B pass Elizondo. Deviation through the NA-2600 to Izpegi.

Route 15 San Juan Xar

• Departure: Igantzi
• Distance: 15,50 km
• Distance: 515 m

ITINERARY MARKED AS A LOCAL TRAIL, IS PROPOSED AS A TREKING TRAIL DUE TO ITS LENGTH AND IT IS ADVISED TO ARRANGE RETURN TRANSPORT (TAXI). LINEAR PATH THAT JOINS THE VILLAGES OF BERA / VERA DE BIDASOA, LESAKA, IGANTZI AND ARANTZA WITH SAN JUAN XAR, NATURAL RESERVE THAT HOSTES THE ONLY NATURAL FOREST OF CARPES IN THE PENINSULA. POPULAR BELIEF GRANTS HEALING POWERS TO THE WATER THAT GIVES THERE, AT THE FOOT OF A GRUTE.

The start is located in Bera / Vera de Bidasoa, next to the San Miguel bridge (pedestrian) and goes up the GR-11 to the villages of Alkaiaga. After a flat section that ran along an old mining railway, the path goes up and crosses a stream to ascend along a cobbled path to a hill and several hamlets from where you can see Lesaka, where we descend through a steep cobbled section. We cross the medieval town of Lesaka next to the haughty house-tower of Zabaleta and, leaving the road to Igantzi, we turn right along the river bank, ascending steep sections until we reach Igantzi, located in an elevated and fertile vega. From the municipal swimming pools we descend to the bottom of the Latsa or Arrata ravine where, alternating between the path and the road to Arantza, we will arrive at the stone arch that indicates the entrance to San Juan Xar. A path crosses the place and, after the old Aranibar farmhouse, the ascent begins along a cobbled path to Arantza, the end of the route.

Of interest

Baile Makildantza de Bera/Vera de Bidasoa

What was once a way to resolve local disputes is today a colorful ceremonial dance show. The dantzari dances with a makil in the second part of the piece, after the feet prepare for the fight with some exerting movements (Eskasak). Each of the parts is preceded by a piece of music called deia (called).

How to get

On the N-121A road to Bera / Vera de Bidasoa and, from the Berrizaun junction, on the NA-4020 to Igantzi and Arantza

Route 16 Iturburua-Bertiz

• Departure: Oieregi
• Distance; 6,50 km
• Unevenness: 180 m

CIRCULAR PATH THROUGH THE SEÑORÍO DE BERTIZ NATURAL PARK UNTIL THE NACEDERO “ITURBURUA” IN THE BASQUE COUNTRY) OF A SMALL STREAM. THE ROUTE, COVERED IN ITS ENTIRETY BY OAK AND BEECH FORESTS, OFFERS AN INTERESTING SECTION OF FOREST-GALLERY AROUND THE SUSPIRU RACE.

Itinerary marked, but without markings or local trail numbering. We begin the tour in Oieregi, in the visitor area of ​​the Señorío de Bertiz Natural Park along a wide and flat path until we reach a lime kiln and the reproduction of a charcoal burner, which attest to another form of exploitation of the forest. We ascend to the left along a steep path at the beginning. After a flat and winding section, where we can enjoy the forest in its fullness, we take a detour to the right, which descends to the Iturburua spring and the Suspiru regatta where, given the high humidity of the soil, beech trees and oaks they give way to alders, ash trees and royal ferns that dominate the gallery forest. After crossing it, we reach a wide path that leads to the initial track and marks the beginning of the route. The excursion can be completed with a visit to the Interpretation Center and the Botanical Garden of the Señorío de Bertiz Natural Park, today Navarra’s natural heritage.

Of interest

Bertiz Park

The palace and its gardens belonged to the Casa de Bertiz from the 14th century until 1898, when this manor was acquired by Pedro Ciga Mayo, who completed the botanical collection with species from all over the world and in 1949 donated it to the Hon. Provincial Council of Navarra on the condition that it be conserved without changing its characteristics. In 1984 the Government of Navarra declared it a Natural Park.

How to get

Highway N-121A to Irún to Oronoz, passing through Belate. Entrance to the Natural Park on the right hand side, at the foot of the road.

Route 17 Ioaldunen Bidea

• Departure: : Zubieta / Ituren
• Distance: 5,00 km
• Unevenness: 100 m

LINEAR PATH THAT JOINS THE TOWNS OF ITUREN AND ZUBIETA, SCENARIOS OF THE CARNAVALESCO RITUAL WHERE THE “IOALDUNAK” (BEARERS OF CENCERROS) CHARGE LEADERSHIP. THE ROUTE ALLOWS, ALSO, THE OBSERVATION OF THE LIFESTYLE OF THE HOUSE, ORGANIZING UNIT OF THE SPACE IN THE ATLANTIC NAVARRE.

The trail begins in the Plaza de Ituren, next to the magnificent building of the herriko statue (town hall, inn, school and social center). Asphalt road to Latsaga, from where a cobbled path crosses the Ezkurra river by a stone river, the scene of legends of lamiak (river sirens, in Basque mythology). This is how you reach the village of Aurtitz, at the foot of Mount Mendaur. We leave Aurtitz on the road to Zubieta, to turn left and cross the Ezkurra river again. After a section in the middle of the hillside between farmhouses and a great variety of fruit and timber trees, the town of Zubieta is reached, with a tight hamlet and surrounded by corn fields. The return can be made from Aurtitz to Ituren through the church of San Martín, located on its promontory. After the tour, a visit to the Zubieta Ecomuseum Mill is recommended.

Of interest

Los ioaldunak

The ioaldunak parade in two lines, with rhythmic and rhythmic movements, managing to ring their bells in unison. The parade takes on a ritual aspect intimately linked to nature. One of the two ioaldun in the front row intermittently sounds a horn and shouts a few shouts that mark, so to speak, the rhythm of the parade.

How to get

Take the N-121A road towards Irun, turn off to Doneztebe / Santesteban and, by the NA-170, you reach Ituren and Zubieta.

Route 18 Bosque de Leurtza

• Departure: Urrotz
• Distance: 9,00 km
• Unevenness: 400 m

CIRCULAR PATH THROUGH THE ARROYO DE LEURTZA BASIN, DECLARED NATURAL RECREATIONAL AREA DUE TO THE LANDSCAPE QUALITY OF ITS SLOPES COVERED BY LARGE BEECHES IN CONTRAST WITH THE WATER SHEET THAT COVERS THE TWO SMALL RESERVOIRS. EXCELLENT HABITAT OF THE BERMEJA FROG.

The trail begins in the Leurtza recreational area, located at the end of the paved access road and next to the information and guard booth (spring-autumn season). After crossing the dam of the upper reservoir, we go up a path with shod sections until we reach the Zumardena pass, next to a milestone from 1781 and next to the Erlain cross. Pass of the GR-12 (“Senda de Euskal Herria”, along the Cantabrian-Mediterranean divide). Following the GR in the direction of Belate, you can visit the Pittortzar dolmen and, again in Zumardena, continue along it in the long section to the Uztakorta pass (an area very frequented in October by pigeon hunters). From Uztakorta we side the Soratxipi mountain on its east face by track and a coal path until we reach the Ezkalarre pass, where the road descends to the beech forest and returns to the starting point. This tour can be completed with Sendero Local S.L. NA-7, shorter, of only 3.5 km and that surrounds the two reservoirs.

Of interest

Leurtza reservoir

Despite their small size, they are a small paradise where the landscapes not only offer their interest in the route, but also in the arrival to the beginning along the road that ascends from Urrotz, a municipality that, together with Beintza-abaien, owns the ownership of Recreational Natural Area. Both towns are nestled in the mountains, surrounded by an evergreen and humid landscape.

How to get

N-121A towards Irún, turn off to Doneztebe / Santesteban and, by NA-4040 to Urrotz. 5 km asphalt road ascends to the Leurtza reservoirs.