Basque Coast

Saint Jean de Luz

Saint Jean de Luz harbour ( Donibane Lohizune in Euskera language) lies at the mouth of the Urdazuri river. It preserves the features of its former strategic role, fishing quarter, coastal promenade, beach and marina. Before crossing the Charles De Gaulle bridge, do not forget to visit the church of Saint Jean Baptiste, one of the most beautiful in the Basque Country.

Saint Jean de Luz - Hondarribia

15 km.

Back on the route, the coastal promenade takes us to the port of Ziburu, originally a humble fishing port, where Maurice Ravel, a French composer of romantic inspiration, was born.

At the Sokoa lighthouse, you enjoy an excellent view of the bay of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, framed between the Vauban fortress, the tidal barriers and the lighthouse-hermitage of Saint Barbara at the other end where the people of the sea worship to the saint who protect against lightning and storms.

Jaizkibel

22 km.

It is the wildest and loneliest stretch of the entire Basque Coast, however it is precisely the rugged terrain that has allowed this coastal section to remain wild as one of the best kept treasures. The first part of the route is the gentlest, from the Higuer lighthouse. Soon the abrupt reliefs of constant ups and downs appear, contouring the silhouette of the coast. Little by little we look out at awesome sandstone rock cliffs tortured by the erosive action of water.

The Euskera names, impose character on the landscape: Labetxu ravine, Tximistakurratua stone platform, Mitxitxola meadows.

If you do not want to walk the entire section, there are a couple of easier options that combine coastal and mountain footpaths.

Donostia - Zarautz

21 km.

San Sebastián (Donostia) was a small walled city, made up of about twenty motley streets of humble homes and palaces and two doors to enter and exit, which were hermetically closed every night. It was an enterprising and bellicose city, with penetrating odors and constant human bustle. Donostia lived its golden age between 1560 and 1580, when the Basque Country had sixteen fishing factories in Terranova and Labrador for fishing and processing cod and whale.

Advancing along the edge of coves and cliffs following the GR-121 route and from the Agiti cove, the enjoyment begins along paths carpeted with heather and ferns and groves of maritime pine, acacias, willows and birches. We enter Zarautz from the Mollarri viewpoint, the best balcony to contemplate it, and among dunes we reach the promenade.

Zumaia - Deba - Mutriko

16 km

Take the train to Zumaia. Further on the flysch of Zumaia and the Hermitage of San Telmo, scenes of numerous caves and small coves, as Sakoneta appear. In former times of busy nights of smuggling and pilgrims, the coast was heaving with people. From this summit of Santa Catalina we already see the village of Deba.

Million years ago, the Mesozoic era, opening of the Bay of Biscay, splited the Iberian plate from the European plate, moving away from the current French coast in a left-handed gyre towards the southeast. Finally you reach Motrico, a small and remote coastal town full of palaces and towered houses, witnesses of a prosperous maritime and commercial past time.

Elantxove - Mundaka

19 km

From Elantxove, an inland walk, among pine forests and farmhouses, leads us to San Pedro de Atxarte viewpoint, with its hermitage hanging over the Urdaibai estuary. A fascinating landscape at our feet: a play of fresh and salt water, islets and marshes, sandy beaches and cliffs. Urdaibai transforms its appearance four times a day, due to the rhythm of the tides, a rich variety of ecosystems that UNESCO declared the estuary and its surroundings a biosphere reserve.

By train and walking, we will get Mundaka, one of the most beautiful towns on the coast and comfortably enjoying the views of Urdaibai.

Matxitxaco Cape - San Juan de Gaztelugatxe - Bilbao

10 km.

Near Matxitxaco Cape we visit two of the most notable temples in Bizkaia: the 12th-century Romanesque hermitage of San Pelagio, and the 10th-century hermitage of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe. This one perches on a rock that emerges from the waves. A stone bridge connects the islet to the mainland, and a path of more than 200 steps winds up to the hermitage. We will end the day in Bilbao with a walk through the Gugguenheim museum.

Bilbao (Farewell)

All marine cultures have the tradition of throwing objects into the sea. These are votive offerings whose reason could be appeasement or expiatory. Approach the edge of the sea before leaving and exercise your right to an offering, secret request, or simply a word of gratitude and mentally throw your object. When rain, wind and sun come together, a frequent scenario on the coast, they will compose before your eyes a beautiful watercolor by another romantic, Turner.