Baztan Route

The first stop is the Amaiur/Maya monolith, a stone monument that reminds us that its castle was the last band of Navarrese resistance against Castile in 1522. Once in the village, there are many things to see: the Museum-Archaeology Centre, the mediaeval church of Asunción, the Our Lady of the Pillar hermitage, and a restored mill where you can buy flour or try a freshlymade talo, a typical Basque and Navarran dish made from corn flour, filled with cheese, chistorra sausage or other delicious ingredients.

The Route will take you to Arizkun, a village divided into five neighbourhoods and where you must visit its palatial houses, such as the Palace of Ursúa and the San Juan Bautista church.

Four kilometres further on you will reach Elbete, which will welcome you with its Baroque palaces of Askoa and Jarola, and a fascinating church depicted by numerous painters. Elbete is the gateway to Elizondo, the capital of the Baztan Valley, and a truly bustling location. You will no doubt be surprised to see so many palaces, such as that of Arizkunenea and the Casa Puriosenea, the Baztan Museum, its large stately homes and the river that crosses the town. Do not leave the village without fi rst trying its acclaimed chocolate with hazelnuts, “Urrakin egina”.

As we make progress, there is a constant succession of small and enchanting villages. A good example is Irurita or Ziga, with its Baztan Viewpoint, from where we get the best views over the valley. The most notable feature in Ziga is its Herrerian-style church, which isknown as the ‘Cathedral of Baztan’ due to its size. The next villages along the Pilgrimage Route are Aniz and Berroeta.

We carry on till we reach Almandoz, the last village in Baztan. From here, you will start to climb the fi rst hills to the Belate Pass, where there is a hermitage-basilica and the Belate pilgrims’ hospital. Take a break and contemplate the view and the row of monoliths that remind us of the pilgrimage that passes through these lands.

The route gradually approaches the capital of Navarre through a series of small villages such as Lantz, famous for its rural carnivals, or Olagüe, where we end this stage.

The last stage of the Baztan Route takes us deeper in to the Ezkabarte Valley, very close to Pamplona. In Sorauren there is an outstanding stone bridge and a beautiful processional cross, which welcomes its parish. At Oricáin you must visit the altarpieces in the Santiago Apóstol church. Both villages are just before Arre, where you can see the monumental ensemble comprising the Trinity of Arre and its bridge, of possible Roman origin. This basilica forms part of a former pilgrims’ hospital constructed in the 12th century.

The Santiago Way advances through the Calle Mayor main street in Villava, which has various interesting buildings such as that of the Dominicos and the Agricultural College; we then continue along the Calle Mayor main street in Burlada. Look out for the pilgrimage signposting on the pavement that will take you to the “Burlada Route”, the gateway to Pamplona.