Discover the Greenways of the Basque Country
Would you like to travel along old railway lines and enjoy spectacular landscapes? Nature, sport, routes, tradition? In the Basque Country there are up to 10 greenways waiting for your visit!
Vasco Navarro Railway Greenway on foot
Start: Estella-Lizarra. End: Bergara / Oñati.
On 31 December 1967, the "trenico", as this railway was known, made its last journey. Today it is possible to travel along this old route, which has been converted into a greenway, both on foot and by bicycle.
A total of 123.5 km, which makes it one of the longest and most attractive Greenways. Visitors will be able to enjoy a varied landscape that includes urban and industrialised areas as well as more rural and natural areas of great beauty, with the unique opportunity to immerse themselves in the intrahistory of this peculiar train, visiting and admiring the vestiges that still remain on the route of the old Anglo-Basque railway. Complete itinerary.
Bidasoa Greenway
Start: Legasa. End: Behobia.
To enjoy this greenway, cross the border between the Basque Country and Navarre to enter the Aiako Harria Natural Park. We will cross a meadow that will take us to the San Miguel halt. A few metres further on, over the Laminarri viaduct, we follow the path to the summit of Pagogaña, where the remains of the fort of the same name, built after the last Carlist war, stand out.
We leave the slopes behind us to find ourselves once again in a wide meadow and the Vía Verde and the river separate their paths. For the next few metres, a bucolic scene with farmhouses predominates. Would you like to know how the route continues? More information here.
Plazaola-Leitzaran Greenway
Start: Andoain. End: Leitzaran.
In order to transport the iron obtained in the Plazaola or Bizkotx mines, located in the Gipuzkoan municipality of Berastegi, the Leitzaran company built a railway linking Plazaola with Andoain at the beginning of the 20th century.
The old railway track is now a forest track that runs through the Leitzaran Valley, classified as a Protected Biotope. This is a splendid opportunity to contemplate nature in its purest form. From the RENFE train station in Andoain we will go up to the track to start the route.
The Montes de Hierro Greenway on foot
Start: Traslaviña. End: Kobaron.
It has been created to link the existing Greenways in Encartaciones and the Left Bank, Bizkaia. The kilometric points of the Greenway, from km 0 to km 29, are marked by panels with quotes from authors such as Blas de Otero and Federico García Lorca.
The route will take us to Las Barrietas, following the Kolitza riverbed. On the other bank we will find another forge and an old mineral loading bay. We can leave the Greenway for a moment to contemplate mountain forges dating back more than 2,000 years. Complete the route.
Mutiloa-Ormaiztegi Greenway
Start: Mutiloa. End: Ormaiztegi.
Before officially starting the Greenway, it is worth walking along the so-called Troi path, which climbs up from the town of Mutiloa to the hamlet of Barnaola between green meadows and farmhouses. We can leave the path to make a stop in the nearby village of Idiazabal, birthplace of the famous cheese of the same name, which has its own Interpretation and Tasting Centre.
After a long route, which you can follow in detail here, we can finally contemplate the Estanda valley and the two railway viaducts of Ormaiztegi. The Greenway is divided into two branches: the one on the right that ends in front of a clearing and the one on the left on an asphalted track that climbs up to Ormaiztegi.
Urola Greenway
Start: Azpeitia. End: Legazpi.
The disappeared Urola Railway used to follow the river that gave it its name to Zumaia, where it connected with the coastal railway of the Basque Country.
Today, part of its route has been recovered and invites us to explore the villages and mountainous landscapes of the Urola region of Gipuzkoa, offering places of great interest such as the Basque Railway Museum or the Ermita de la Antigua Hermitage. Discover the route.
Arrazola Greenway
Start and finish: Bº Apatamonasterio, Atxondo.
This route links the neighbourhood of Apatamonasterio, in Atxondo, with the old Errotabarri - El Tope station. It is a 5 km one-way route that crosses the beautiful Biscayan valley of Atxondo from north to south and arrives at the foot of Anboto, the highest peak of the mountainous Urkiola Natural Park and home of Mari, the ancestral goddess of the Basques.
For those of you who are so fanatical about nature and routes that you haven't had enough, we recommend the Arditurri Greenway for walking and, although it can also be done on foot, if you prefer cycling, the Itsaslur Greenway and the Atxuri Greenway are the routes for you.
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