From Bilbao to Lekeitio by car: this is the most beautiful route in the Basque Country
From Bilbao to Lekeitio by car: this is the most beautiful route in the Basque Country
The easiest way to get around the Basque Country and make the most of your time is by car. Aiming to help travelers who move about in their own vehicle to organize their trip, the Basque Route has come into existence. It is divided into eight sections and includes the best destinations to visit. One of the most desirable excursions of these eight proposals is the one that runs along the coast of Biscay, beginning in Bilbao and ending in Lekeitio. Here, we explain this route that passes through beaches, islands, wild cliffs, and picturesque fishing villages.
There it is, you have it in front of you: the Guggenheim Museum, the heart of the new Bilbao – a heart which started beating over twenty years ago. Where you now see gardens, hotels, and skyscrapers once was full of warehouses, shipyards, and loading docks. You will understand this part of history better when you take the BI-711 highway and head north, always with the estuary of the Nervión River to the left. After a few kilometers, the iron giant will appear: the Biscay Bridge which, for more than a hundred years, has linked Portugalete with Getxo.
The trip by car continues along route BI-634 until connecting, in Sopela, with route BI-2122 – a very pleasant road with gentle curves. The Arriatera and Atxabiribil Beaches, which belong to Sopela, are active year round thanks to surfing. If you are looking for more intimate and special spaces, in the neighboring town of Barrika there are two small nudist beaches: the Meñakoz Beach –with sand and stone– and the Muriola Beach, very charming and protected, almost hidden, and facing towards the dawn sun. From the Muriola Beach, you can quickly arrive in Plentzia, a town with a seafaring history and a peculiar aspect due to the meanders that the Butrón River’s estuary has at its mouth.
Next to Plentzia is Gorliz, so close that the two municipalities share the same bay. Take route BI-3151 towards Bakio and, shortly after passing the kilometer 41 marker, look out for an open field with benches which is on the left. Park, look for a clearing among the trees, and voilà– the eastern coast of Biscay will appear before you; San Juan de Gaztelugatxe (where the series ‘Game of Thrones’ was shot) and its inseparable islet, Aketxe.
As you get closer to Bakio, you will notice that the landscape changes. The pines and eucalyptus trees cease to reign, the meadows appear again and, next to them, something that you probably did not expect to find in this part of the Basque Country: vineyards, many vineyards, on small plots, on sloping terraces, or wherever the complicated orography allows for them. They are the vineyards for the famous txakoli wine.
If you want to step on the northernmost portion of land in the Basque Country, take the bypass that leads to the Matxitxako Lighthouse. Later, descend to Bermeo, another village with a strong fishing tradition, as evidenced by its coat of arms presided over by a whale. Route BI-2235 will take you to the neighboring town, Mundaka, a small and cozy village which is also a highly desired destination for surfers from all over the planet.
The next stop is Urdaibai, declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO and delimited by the magnificent estuary of the Mundaka River, the surrounding mountains, and –offshore– the Izaro Island. The BI-2235 highway will take you to Guernica, a historical place that you will have heard about because of the bombing and the painting by Picasso. There are hardly any traces of the past because two thirds of the buildings disappeared after the 1937 attack; however, one of the buildings that remained intact is the Casa de Juntas (‘Meeting House’) and, next to it, the famous Tree of Guernica (also known as the ‘Tree of Gernika’), a symbol of Basque freedoms and rights.
Return to the north by means of route BI-2238 and hook up, on your right, with route BI-4244 just before reaching Kortezubi. You are headed directly to a magical place: the Santimamiñe Cave, one of the cathedrals of Basque prehistory.
Again on route BI-2238, next to the Urdaibai Estuary, continue towards the Izaro Island and, when you get to Gautegiz Arteaga, take BI-3234 until reaching Elantxobe, a village whose houses clamber up the slopes of the Ogoño Mountain.
Route BI-2238 is also the road that will lead you to Lekeitio, a fishing village whose imposing island, San Nicolás, can be accessed on foot when the tide goes out. The Santa Catalina Lighthouse –the first visitable lighthouse in the Basque Country–, the beaches, the revelry of the port, and the huge Gothic altarpiece in its basilica all make Lekeitio a town that deserves a visit of at least a couple of days.
The Basque Route
