Aiako harria
Encyclopedia
Aiako Harria in Basque
or Peñas de Aya in Spanish
, is a massif east of the town of Oiartzun
in the Basque Country. The river Oiartzun
rises on its north-western face.
The range is very popular with the inhabitants of the area. Other neighbouring towns are Irun
on the north and Lesaka
on the east. The massif comprises three summits extending 4-odd kilometres north to south in a row, namely Irumugarrieta (806 m), Txurrumurru (821 m) and Erroilbide (832 m). Its characteristic shape can be made out approximately from as far as Bayonne
(north), the massif being dubbed the "face of Napoleon" on account of its similar outline, while its actual French
name is Les Trois Couronnes. At its western foot, the mountain holds the site Arditurri related to ancient Oiasso
with a network of mine corridors carved in the rock and put down to Romans. Some notable mountains around are Bianditz (827 m) on the south, Jaizkibel
(547 m) on the west and Larrun
on the north-east.
s, menhir
s, etc.), is home to numerous fairy tales and rich mythological believes. The first one refers to the very creation of the mountain. According to a recurrent account in Basque mythology
(e.g. Aballarri in Adarra
), it is made up of a stone kicked by mythological character Sanson (Basque development of biblical Samson
) from Jaizkibel
, while another suggests that it fell down from a pocket of his when he was bombing the valley with huge rocks.
Another typical mythological character from Aiako Harria and Oiartzun
is the intxixu, who dwells in the mine corridors of Arditurri. The intxixus are mischievous but shy, so they are hard to see. A collected folk account goes that a warden came across one of them at the mines, and seized with fear he took to running right the town hall of Oiartzun
. The warden reported the character to be half human half betizu (a wild cow of the region). Tradition credits them with the building of the megalithic monuments around.
(rivalling with the coastal mountain Jaizkibel
), it stands out as a distinctive range of rocky prominences and gullies, otherwise uncommon. The conspicuous formations of Aiako Harria consist of a Paleozoic
massif with some of the oldest materials cropping out currently in the Basque Country
. Later orogeny pushed a mass of igneous rocks to the surface, so metamorphosing the superficial Paleozoic
materials as it tore its way out of them, which yielded the present day granitic
landscape.
The materials held by the mountain enticed the Romans to these reaches, who settled in the riverside town of Oiasso
with important port and factory vestiges unveiled recently. Ore was extracted from the Arditurri mines (IPA: [aɾ'ðituri]), largely silver bearing galena
and lead
aimed at the elaboration of different metallic instruments, the site standing for one of the most significant ancient mines in Hispania
, second to Las Médulas
mines in Leon but matching in importance those of Cartagena or Rio Tinto. As late as the Vth century, the mines were abandoned by Romans, but were exploited in the Middle Ages for iron
, so spurring the construction of many foundries around. The mines kept on running up to 1984, when the exploitation license expired.
, after a long winding road up in the direction of Lesaka
(GI-3420), the vehicle may be parked on the roadside before the tunnel (height 502 m). A pebbled track goes up on the right hand until a field and a hut on the pass. The trail heads north to the summits past a plantation of small trees in memory of dead Basque nationalist
activists and militants. The trail opens its way out of grass patches and crooked passages, with clear signs all along. No climbing needed, although crawling is needed in order to overcome some obstacles. At one point, a tricky stretch must be passed where a ring must be grabbed in order to continue. After reaching the last summit of Irumugarrieta, the landscape turns opener. Breathtaking scenery of the whole Basque coastline, Landes
, Basque mountains
and the western Pyrenees
.
Keep north-bound in a steep descent leaving behind the Juncal cave on the right (748 m high). The trail falls past the remains of a military defence line dating from the Civil War till an open larch
forest is reached, and on to the pass of Elurretxe (road). This is the access called Castillo del Inglés too, after a building nearby nowadays in ruin. For the way back, in order to skip the same trail to return, the PR-GI 20 looping around the massif can be taken, either through the western side or the eastern one. In the first option, the trail runs back south at middle height through forest landscape most of the time, except for the final stage, before merging with the starting point in Aritxulegi. No slopes up at the beginning, but several twists and zigzags up on the way.
(Elizalde), take the road going up towards Irun
and neighbourhood Gurutze. In a 5 minute ride of a motor vehicle, a minor road splits off to the right (GI-3454, signposted "Ingelesaren Gaztelua"). The road winds up for another 15 minutes gaining height gradually until Elurretxe is reached (Km 8, open larch
forest and picnic area on the right).
Basque language
Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...
or Peñas de Aya in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, is a massif east of the town of Oiartzun
Oiartzun
Oiartzun is a town of the Basque Country located in the province of Gipuzkoa lying at the foot of the massif Aiako Harria.The name traces back to the Oiasso or Oiarso of the Roman period, an important town dedicated to mining and marine activities...
in the Basque Country. The river Oiartzun
Oiartzun (river)
The Oiartzun River is a short river in the Basque Country in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. It's the smallest river of Gipuzkoa flowing into the Bay of Biscay , with the river joining the sea at the Bay of Pasaia. The river rises in the Aiako Harria massif at an altitude higher than 700 m...
rises on its north-western face.
The range is very popular with the inhabitants of the area. Other neighbouring towns are Irun
Irun
Irun is a town of the Bidasoa-Txingudi region in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain...
on the north and Lesaka
Lesaka
Lesaka is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, in Spain.-External links:*...
on the east. The massif comprises three summits extending 4-odd kilometres north to south in a row, namely Irumugarrieta (806 m), Txurrumurru (821 m) and Erroilbide (832 m). Its characteristic shape can be made out approximately from as far as Bayonne
Bayonne
Bayonne is a city and commune in south-western France at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, of which it is a sub-prefecture...
(north), the massif being dubbed the "face of Napoleon" on account of its similar outline, while its actual French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
name is Les Trois Couronnes. At its western foot, the mountain holds the site Arditurri related to ancient Oiasso
Oiasso
Oiasso, Oiasona or Oiarso was a Basque Roman town located on the left bank of the Bidasoa estuary in the Bay of Biscay . Archaeological evidence unearthed recently pinpoints the core area of Oiasso in the old quarter of Irun by the Spanish-French border, where harbour and bath remains have been...
with a network of mine corridors carved in the rock and put down to Romans. Some notable mountains around are Bianditz (827 m) on the south, Jaizkibel
Jaizkibel
Jaizkibel is mountain range of the Basque Country located east of Pasaia, north of Lezo and west of Hondarribia, in Spain, with 547 m at the highest point . The range stretches south-west to north-east, where it plunges into the sea at the Cape Higuer...
(547 m) on the west and Larrun
La Rhune
Larrun is a mountain at the western end of the Pyrenees. It is located on the border between France and Spain, where the traditional Basque provinces of Labourd and Navarra meet...
on the north-east.
Mythology
The mountain and the surrounding area, besides being dotted with abundant prehistoric vestiges (stone circleStone circle
A stone circle is a monument of standing stones arranged in a circle. Such monuments have been constructed across the world throughout history for many different reasons....
s, menhir
Menhir
A menhir is a large upright standing stone. Menhirs may be found singly as monoliths, or as part of a group of similar stones. Their size can vary considerably; but their shape is generally uneven and squared, often tapering towards the top...
s, etc.), is home to numerous fairy tales and rich mythological believes. The first one refers to the very creation of the mountain. According to a recurrent account in Basque mythology
Basque mythology
The mythology of the ancient Basques largely did not survive the, albeit late, arrival of Christianity in the Basque Country between the 4th and 12th century AD...
(e.g. Aballarri in Adarra
Adarra
Adarra is a mountain south of the city of San Sebastian in the Basque Country much appreciated and popular with the donostiarras and other neighbouring inhabitants...
), it is made up of a stone kicked by mythological character Sanson (Basque development of biblical Samson
Samson
Samson, Shimshon ; Shamshoun or Sampson is the third to last of the Judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Tanakh ....
) from Jaizkibel
Jaizkibel
Jaizkibel is mountain range of the Basque Country located east of Pasaia, north of Lezo and west of Hondarribia, in Spain, with 547 m at the highest point . The range stretches south-west to north-east, where it plunges into the sea at the Cape Higuer...
, while another suggests that it fell down from a pocket of his when he was bombing the valley with huge rocks.
Another typical mythological character from Aiako Harria and Oiartzun
Oiartzun
Oiartzun is a town of the Basque Country located in the province of Gipuzkoa lying at the foot of the massif Aiako Harria.The name traces back to the Oiasso or Oiarso of the Roman period, an important town dedicated to mining and marine activities...
is the intxixu, who dwells in the mine corridors of Arditurri. The intxixus are mischievous but shy, so they are hard to see. A collected folk account goes that a warden came across one of them at the mines, and seized with fear he took to running right the town hall of Oiartzun
Oiartzun
Oiartzun is a town of the Basque Country located in the province of Gipuzkoa lying at the foot of the massif Aiako Harria.The name traces back to the Oiasso or Oiarso of the Roman period, an important town dedicated to mining and marine activities...
. The warden reported the character to be half human half betizu (a wild cow of the region). Tradition credits them with the building of the megalithic monuments around.
Geology
Besides being considered by some the westernmost tip of the PyreneesPyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
(rivalling with the coastal mountain Jaizkibel
Jaizkibel
Jaizkibel is mountain range of the Basque Country located east of Pasaia, north of Lezo and west of Hondarribia, in Spain, with 547 m at the highest point . The range stretches south-west to north-east, where it plunges into the sea at the Cape Higuer...
), it stands out as a distinctive range of rocky prominences and gullies, otherwise uncommon. The conspicuous formations of Aiako Harria consist of a Paleozoic
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon, spanning from roughly...
massif with some of the oldest materials cropping out currently in the Basque Country
Basque Country (historical territory)
The Basque Country is the name given to the home of the Basque people in the western Pyrenees that spans the border between France and Spain on the Atlantic coast....
. Later orogeny pushed a mass of igneous rocks to the surface, so metamorphosing the superficial Paleozoic
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon, spanning from roughly...
materials as it tore its way out of them, which yielded the present day granitic
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
landscape.
The materials held by the mountain enticed the Romans to these reaches, who settled in the riverside town of Oiasso
Irun
Irun is a town of the Bidasoa-Txingudi region in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain...
with important port and factory vestiges unveiled recently. Ore was extracted from the Arditurri mines (IPA: [aɾ'ðituri]), largely silver bearing galena
Galena
Galena is the natural mineral form of lead sulfide. It is the most important lead ore mineral.Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crystallizes in the cubic crystal system often showing octahedral forms...
and lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
aimed at the elaboration of different metallic instruments, the site standing for one of the most significant ancient mines in Hispania
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
, second to Las Médulas
Las Médulas
Las Médulas is a historical site near the town of Ponferrada in the region of El Bierzo , which used to be the most important gold mine in the Roman Empire...
mines in Leon but matching in importance those of Cartagena or Rio Tinto. As late as the Vth century, the mines were abandoned by Romans, but were exploited in the Middle Ages for iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
, so spurring the construction of many foundries around. The mines kept on running up to 1984, when the exploitation license expired.
Access points and trails
There is a myriad of combinations and well signalled trails. The PR GI-20 route, marked with yellow and white, skirts all around the massif. The signalling for the central route of the summits is older. Two starting points may be highlighted, at the south and the north ends of the massif, i.e. Aritxulegi and the pass of Elurretxe.Aritxulegi
From OiartzunOiartzun
Oiartzun is a town of the Basque Country located in the province of Gipuzkoa lying at the foot of the massif Aiako Harria.The name traces back to the Oiasso or Oiarso of the Roman period, an important town dedicated to mining and marine activities...
, after a long winding road up in the direction of Lesaka
Lesaka
Lesaka is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, in Spain.-External links:*...
(GI-3420), the vehicle may be parked on the roadside before the tunnel (height 502 m). A pebbled track goes up on the right hand until a field and a hut on the pass. The trail heads north to the summits past a plantation of small trees in memory of dead Basque nationalist
Abertzale
Abertzale in the Basque language means "patriot", and it is mainly used to mean "Basque nationalist". It comes from the fusion of aberri with the suffix -zale .Although the term is synonym of "patriot", its common use...
activists and militants. The trail opens its way out of grass patches and crooked passages, with clear signs all along. No climbing needed, although crawling is needed in order to overcome some obstacles. At one point, a tricky stretch must be passed where a ring must be grabbed in order to continue. After reaching the last summit of Irumugarrieta, the landscape turns opener. Breathtaking scenery of the whole Basque coastline, Landes
Landes forest
The Landes forest or the Landes of Gascony , in the historic Gascony region of southwestern France now known as Aquitaine, is the largest maritime-pine forest in Europe...
, Basque mountains
Basque mountains
The Basque Mountains are a mountain range situated in the northern Iberian Peninsula. Geographically it is considered as the eastern section of the larger Cantabrian Range...
and the western Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
.
Keep north-bound in a steep descent leaving behind the Juncal cave on the right (748 m high). The trail falls past the remains of a military defence line dating from the Civil War till an open larch
Larch
Larches are conifers in the genus Larix, in the family Pinaceae. Growing from 15 to 50m tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains further south...
forest is reached, and on to the pass of Elurretxe (road). This is the access called Castillo del Inglés too, after a building nearby nowadays in ruin. For the way back, in order to skip the same trail to return, the PR-GI 20 looping around the massif can be taken, either through the western side or the eastern one. In the first option, the trail runs back south at middle height through forest landscape most of the time, except for the final stage, before merging with the starting point in Aritxulegi. No slopes up at the beginning, but several twists and zigzags up on the way.
Elurretxe (Castillo del Inglés)
The same route may be done on the opposite direction, that is, starting from Elurretxe to Aritxulegi and back by means of any of the trail choices. From OiartzunOiartzun
Oiartzun is a town of the Basque Country located in the province of Gipuzkoa lying at the foot of the massif Aiako Harria.The name traces back to the Oiasso or Oiarso of the Roman period, an important town dedicated to mining and marine activities...
(Elizalde), take the road going up towards Irun
Irun
Irun is a town of the Bidasoa-Txingudi region in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain...
and neighbourhood Gurutze. In a 5 minute ride of a motor vehicle, a minor road splits off to the right (GI-3454, signposted "Ingelesaren Gaztelua"). The road winds up for another 15 minutes gaining height gradually until Elurretxe is reached (Km 8, open larch
Larch
Larches are conifers in the genus Larix, in the family Pinaceae. Growing from 15 to 50m tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains further south...
forest and picnic area on the right).
The Arditurri greenway
At the western foot of the massif, a pleasing and pretty flat greenway has been arranged for cyclists and pedestrians along the river Oiartzun, which heads east into the wild up to the Arditurri mines.Events
- The core area of Aiako Harria and an extended strip along the borderline with NavarreNavarreNavarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...
were declared Natural Park in 1995, covering an area of 6,913 Ha. The whole stretch features remarkable green beauty, plenty of water and abundant vegetation.
- At Christmas time, hikers and devotees from IrunIrunIrun is a town of the Bidasoa-Txingudi region in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain...
gather together at the Juncal cave so as to venerate Our Lady of the Juncal, beloved patron of the town.
- The pass of Aritxulegi holds an affective significance for militant Basque nationalistsAbertzaleAbertzale in the Basque language means "patriot", and it is mainly used to mean "Basque nationalist". It comes from the fusion of aberri with the suffix -zale .Although the term is synonym of "patriot", its common use...
tracing back to the Spanish Civil WarSpanish Civil WarThe Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, since an ANVEusko Abertzale EkintzaBasque Nationalist Action is a Basque nationalist party based in Spain. Founded in 1930, it was the first Basque nationalist political party to exist running on a socialist program. On 16 September 2008, the party was outlawed by the Spanish Supreme Court based on ties with ETA...
member was first killed by Francoists at this spot. A standing stone has been erected as a memorial. Furthermore, a meeting is held here on a yearly basis on the Day of the Basque Soldier, the Gudari Eguna.
- The Arditurri mines opened to public and tourist attendance in 2008, after years of revealing findings, arrangements and provisions. A portion of 15 km of galleries, chambers and Roman-made interior lakes are on show for visitors.
External links
- Trails, circuits and facilities through Aiako Harria Site in Basque and Spanish
- The Arditurri mines: description and visits Site in Basque and Spanish
- Natural Parks of Gipuzkoa.