Gartxot route

The moderately difficult Gartxot route offers breathtaking views of the Pyrenees and Salazar valley. Its name refers to the legend of the bard Gartxot.

A circular route, it begins in Izalzu and, after a kilometre heading towards Uztárroz, enters an oak wood. The first section offers an exceptional viewpoint overlooking the Pyrenees and then you can admire the peaks of southern Navarre as far as Mount Moncayo. The route winds through dense beech and oak woods, pastures and livestock sheds, and, in two sections in the middle, you can enjoy shaded waterfalls. A detour allows you to visit the Elkorreta cave, where, according to a mediaeval legend, the bard Gartxot took refuge after killing his son to prevent the monks of Orreaga/Roncesvalles from taking him.

The path leads to a ravine and a track, descends through fields and once more enters an area with oak and box trees before returning to Izalzu.