Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación
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Stage 4: Arraba - Izarra

Description

The Gorbea Mountains

This stage guides trekkers through the entire Gorbea Natural Park, from the high mountain pastures and limestone outcrops —privileged viewpoints of the natural harmony in this area—, across heather and gorse-covered ground, as far as the mixed oak and beech forests and the habitats of species such as the deer, which interrupt the peacefulness of the mountains during the months of September and October when they bellow their mating calls.

Antes de confluir con el trazado principal de la etapa 4, la variante cruza sobre el río Baias

The trail begins in the Arraba shelter and heads in a westerly direction, climbing for 1.5 km along a path that crosses the limestone pavements of the Itxina mountain range. Behind these mountains stands the peak of Ipergorta, which is siliceous in nature (sandstone), as is the Gorbea, with rounded forms and barely any rocky outcrops, in contrast with the limestone mountain ranges of Itxina and Aldamin.

The Ipergorta peak is an exceptional natural viewpoint from where you can see the whole of the Alava part of the Gorbea Natural Park, with magnificent views of its forests and mountain pastures. Continuing along the watershed, the path begins to descend and immediately crosses a road, which is joined by the Arraba diversion from the previous stage. At this point, the path also forks, offering an alternative to the main route, the Garrastatxu turnoff, which is described below.

El río Baias atraviesa pequeñas vegas aluviales, en las que el valle se ensancha

The main route continues southwards, along the watershed, crossing the limestone outcrops of the Aldamin mountain range, which lies to your left. Once you have crossed a field of limestone pavements, without needing to climb any steep slopes, you will come to the Usotegieta’s grassed summit. From this point onwards, you will begin a 9-kilometre descent as far as the Natural Park’s information centre in the municipality of Sarria, of which the first three kilometres, until they reach the River Baias, are very steep, whereas the rest run parallel to it along a slightly uneven path.

The first stage, which features the steepest slope, descends in a southwesterly direction, following some tyre tracks that run along the elevation’s watershed. The plant landscape in the area is formed of large forest patches, mainly comprising beech and oak trees, and extensive stretches of meadow-brushwood, strewn with beech (Fagus sylvatica) and thicket woodland, which appear anywhere where the soil is deeper or less deteriorated by cattle.

Izarra, capital del municipio de Urkabustaiz, final de etapa.

The brushwood mainly comprises gorse and heather, which tinge the mountains with pinks and yellows during their flowering months. The current landscape is the result of the way in which ancient settlers used the land, mainly to obtain wood and logs and to feed their cattle, a use that is still very important.

EIn a small depression that crosses the path, you can see, next to the Trail, the menhir of Arlobi, a megalithic element that was recently discovered and bears witness to the existence of numerous funerary remains that reveal the historic occupation of these lands.

On following the trail, you pass by a shepherd’s hut that is protected underneath some beech trees, which then joins a path that leads to the banks of the River Baias, where it crosses a track and merges, at this point, with the Garrastatxu diversion. The Garrastatxu diversion is 13.8 km long compared to the 5.2 km of the main route. This detour offers you the possibility of deviating along a branch road, which is 1.7 km long and ends in the town of Garrastatxu.

Vista desde las brañas de Ipergorta

In order to take the Garrastatxu diversion, you carry on westwards along the track where both paths fork and where it is joined by the Arraba turnoff, and you descend as far as the livestock roads of Austiarmin, which were built among the limestone outcrops of the foothills of the Aldamin mountain range. From here, you continue eastwards along a worn path that climbs among meadows as far as the top of Mount Oderiaga, where it is worth stopping and contemplating the landscape of the Gorbea Natural Park.

From this point onwards, the route descends down a very steep slope for 5.7 km (an incline of over 600 m) among brushwood and mountain pastures, as far as the lowest point of the diversion. From here, the branch road that leads to Garrastatxu begins; this town is situated on a hill, with views of the Amurrio valley, and is home to the chapel of Nuestra Señora de la Piedad.

Menhir de Arlobi. De fondo, el monte Oderiaga

The diversion continues, from the crossing with the branch road, and turns back on itself eastwards, climbing some 4.5 km along a track that runs among gorse and beech trees as far as Mount Haginamendi, from where it descends for barely 1.5 km, crossing the River Baias, until it links up with the main route.

Both routes continue together along a track that is in very good condition and runs parallel to the River Baias, crossing it on several occasions, as far as the Gorbea Natural Park Visitor Information Centre, which is close to Sarria, after a walk of some six kilometres. Along this stage, you can contemplate riverbank vegetation comprising willows (Salix sp.), ashes (Fraxinus sp.) and alders (Alnus glutinosa), which line the banks of the River Baias.

Having reached this point, aside from the information centre where you can consult interesting aspects of the Natural Park, there is a rest area where you can have a short break on your way. The route continues along a path that begins at the bottom end of the rest area and the car park. It immediately enters a pine grove that provides shade for the two-kilometre moderate climb to the top.

The trail turns to the left and continues among beech and oak woodland, bordering the extensive Altube beech grove to the south as it descends down the Lekandai and Oslarra peaks, towards the town of Altube. To this end, before you reach Altube, you have to take a path that emerges on the right-hand side and which joins the A-624 highway after crossing some conifer plantations. After crossing the road, you take a path that runs through Mestolaza and crosses some meadows, forest plantations and oak and gall-oak woods, until you cross under the Basque-Aragonese highway via a subway in the Altube pass.

The route continues along forest tracks among the beech and oak groves that border the head of the Altube valley. It then climbs up El Troncón, initially following a steep slope, and then crossing flat land until it comes to some power lines, which lead you to the A-2521 highway. After crossing this road, you continue along a dirt track, which runs in a southerly direction, and you immediately take a turnoff to the right along a trail, which can be muddy at times, which ends in El Robledal de la Calzada. This setting is home to the Izarra Park, the end of stage no. 4, and the capital of the municipality of Urkabustaiz.

This stage is not suitable for cycling as some surfaces are very uneven, especially those that cover areas of limestone pavements at the beginning of the stage. It is also worth mentioning that the climb up to Mount Argindegorta, on the Garrastatxu diversion, is also unsuitable for cycle owing to its steep slope and stoniness.

Map

Profile

MIDE (Method for the Information of Excursions)

(Calculated according to the MIDE criteria for an average excursionist with a light load)

Featured

Further information

Itxina Protected Biotope

In its initial kilometres, the fourth stage covers the area of the Itxina Protected Biotope, a limestone mountain range which, thanks to the chemical and modelling action of water, has produced one of the most important karstic developments in Spain.

The mountain range has outstanding peaks such as the Lekanda, which is the highest at 1.302 m and is located to the east. The Altipitatz and Arteta stand out in the south and the Aizkorrigane in the north.

At first sight, you can see limestone pavements, which are large furrows or channels in the rock, and sinkholes that form water gullies that have caused the land to collapse through dissolution. There is a series of famous ones such as the Ojo de Atxular, which is the easiest way to enter the mountain range, and the Aldabide upwelling, which is the only spring that exists in the whole of the karst.

In addition to its 130 caves, in Itxina you can count some extraordinary developments, especially that of Urrikobasoko, which stretches 301 m, and the Otxabide-Lezandi group, which reaches a length of 14 km. Other caves stand out on account of their fantastic aspect, such as the famous Supelegor cave, home to numerous Basque mythology characters.

This mountain range constitutes an ideal habitat for many species of fauna, including eight different types of bats, and numerous cave-dwelling invertebrates, which have adapted to the scarcity of light and nutrients in the caves’ conditions.

Gorbeia Natural Park and SCI

This stage crosses the Gorbeia Natural Park and Site of Community Importance: SCI ES2110009 Gorbeia. These extensive areas (20.016 ha) are located between Bizkaia and Araba/Álava and are characterised by their beech and oak woods, which alternate with mountain pastures, karstic formations and siliceous summits.

Worthy of mention is the presence in the southeastern area of the beech and oak groves of Altube, which house species such as the Northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) and the common redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus). There are also wetlands, which are home to amphibians such as the Alpine newt (Mesotriton alpestris) and the European tree frog (Hyla arborea).

Furthermore, excellent examples of riverside woods (alders and willows) that shelter species such as the brown trout (Salmo trutta), the common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis), the Pyrenean desman (Galemys pyrenaicus), the European mink (Mustela lutreola) and the common otter (Lutra lutra) can also be found on the banks of the River Baias.

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