The Basque Route
The Basque Route
The best way to get to the villages and most remote areas of the Basque Country –those that best preserve the traditions and local culture– is by car. If you have not come to the Basque Country in your own vehicle, we want to invite you to join us in one of our luxury cars with a chauffeur, BASQUE LUXURY TRAVEL SERVICE, to discover the route being proposed here – a route which begins in Laguardia and ends in Orduña.
Make yourself comfortable. Sit down in the black leather seats of our vehicles and turn on the back massager. You can take advantage of the journey to see a movie or documentary. Surely, you’ll enjoy the car ride as much as visiting the towns. If you get to Laguardia in the morning, let the village wipe the sleep from its eyes. Give it a little time to come to life and for the restaurants to prepare the smoldering embers with dry vine branches. You can take advantage of the time to do a short trip to the Protected Biotope of the Lagunar Complex in Laguardia, located to the southeast of the village. The most visited lagoon is Prao de la Paul, surrounded by trees and reed beds that, in the coldest months, provide refuge to migratory birds.
Are you ready to visit Laguardia by foot? Go up to the top, look for the Portal del Carmen Doorway, take a photo of the famous tile that says “Paz a los que llegan. Salud a los que habitan. Felicidad a los que marchan.” (“Peace to those who come. Health to those who live here. Happiness to those who leave.”), and cross the wall, which will take you to the Plaza Mayor Square. You shouldn’t expect a large, monumental square, but instead something more intimate: here in the north, winters are hard and it’s better for spaces not to be too exposed. Laguardia’s best treasure is hidden at the highest part of the town, and it’s not necessary to be a religious art expert to understand that the colored door of the Church of Santa María de los Reyes is something unique that does not exactly abound in Europe. In fact, it is almost a miracle that all of those figures, carved towards the end of the Middle Ages, are still in such good condition.
If you like Gothic sculpture with a bit of a vexing touch, venture to the “Portada de los Abuelos” (“Grandparents’ Door”) of the Church of San Juan and look for the violinist. The journey can be done over the narrow streets of the village, such as San Andrés street, which is so narrow that you’ll never see a car there. When you think that you’ve seen everything, remember that Laguardia extends underground, as under the houses there are hundreds of meters of wine aging cellars dug out of the earth in which the wine matures: cellars from the sixteenth century, some of which can be visited.
Say goodbye to the flat, straight terrain, as now it’s time to go up to Puerto de Herrera via highway A-2124. Doubtlessly, the reason for so much climbing is worth it: you’re going to arrive to a lookout point that perfectly illustrates the landscape you have just traveled over. This is the “Balcón de La Rioja” (“La Rioja Balcony”), a large rest area where you can see all of the Rioja Alavesa, the Ebro, the hills that rise up next thereto and, of course, the sea of vineyards. The rest of the journey is also impressive, as you will go from 500 to 1000 meters in height over very few kilometers, all the while winding around 180º turns. Ask your driver to put a good song on Spotify, something to go along with the landscape; B.B. King, for example.
You will continue along the A-2124 highway and soon discover that the tuft of trees will disappear and give way to green meadows, a sign that you are once again in the mountains of the Rioja Alavesa. The place is very beautiful, that much is true, very true, but keep in mind that during the coldest months it is not uncommon for there to be snow, which can force you to change your plans. Soon you’ll arrive to Peñacerrada-Urizaharra. It is ideal to see the town from a high point so as to appreciate its shape, which is similar to that of an almond that has a wall instead of a shell to protect itself. Look for the most spectacular of the wall’s remains: the south door, with its two great towers.
The next stop is Faido. In the southern part of the village is the Nuestra Señora de la Peña Hermitage, one of the most specials of the Basque Country. It has Pre-Romanesque origins, was sculpted from stone (even its altarpiece is made of stone), and was home to a eremitic community during the Middle Ages.
Continue towards the ancient Roman town of Añana, one of the most unique landscapes that you will find on this tour of the Basque Country. Why? Because nothing will prepare you to see a ravine that has been excavated by human hands and covered with a complex system of terraces and wood channels with a single purpose: to obtain that edible mineral that, for centuries, was considered to be “white gold” – salt. The Añana Salt Mines, which provide the “Valle Salado” (“Salt Valley”) name to the place, go back 6,000 years in time and have practically been in operation without stopping until the present age.
Approaching from the highway, you’ll be able to see the magic of the mines, which got to be as big as more than ten hectares in surface area. The reason why springs with salt water come out of the mountain is no surprise (filtering through sediment takes place), but what will really astound you are the efforts made by humans to extract the greatest possible amount of that salty solution. Dedicate time to Añana, join one of the interesting guided tours and, when you’re done, you will never again add salt to a steak or salad in the same way as you did before.
Return to the route. One kilometer before arriving to Goiuri-Ondona, you will see a clear, flat area from which a paved road emerges. Take that road and you’ll find parking just a few meters away. The driver will wait for you there. Follow the signs to get to the lookout point, about a ten-minute walk, and you will be able to marvel at the Gujuli waterfall. When the Oiardo River has water, it creates a beautiful, trickling waterfall like a horse’s white tail that measures 100 meters.
And if 100 meters doesn’t seem like enough to you, remember that just 15 kilometers away there is another waterfall that measures 270 meters – one of the largest of Europe: it is known as the Salto del Nervión Waterfall, near the village of Orduña, which is where the river that arrives to Bilbao starts. The route from Laguardia to Orduña –lands of wine, water, and salt– ends here, at this spectacular place. We hope that you have enjoyed this trip with BASQUE LUXURY TRAVEL SERVICE.
The Basque Route
