We are in Navarre, in the town of Iturmendi, that has 360 inhabitants an it's located to the west of Iruña in the Valley of Burunda, that along with the Barranca, Aranatz, Ergoiena and Arakil valleys forum the valley of Sakana, which they include the towns located from muga with Alava to the town of Irurtzun.

 To the north we have the mountain range of Altzania and the one of Aralar, to the south the natural park of Urbasa-Andia. These mountain ranges are to a large extent wide beech and grazing lands where from May to October, the cattle pasture. The lifestock is formed mainly by ewe of race "latxa",horses and "pirenaica" cow. In these mountain ranges along with the of Aitzkorri it is where we can find the ewe cheese of Idiazabal denomination.

Aralar is a mountain range which we share with Gipuzkoa, two third parts os which are Navarrese. In Aralar we can find one of the more important dolmen sites of the North of the iberian Peninsula.

  On the Valley of Sakana and to the height of Uharte-Arakil, we can find a concrete road that will lead us to the end where the mytical sanctuary of San Miguel of Aralar is. Next to it there is an inn and a restaurant. The church is romanesque with three naves and three apses. You can get inside through a porch covered with a barrel vault. In its interior there is romanesque chapel from a later period where you can admire the effigy of silver on golden of San Miguel with the reliquary of the lignum crucis in cross form on its head and one of the most appraised artistic trasures of XII Century: the enamel altarpiece of Aralar. Guarda-etxe (keeper´s house) is starting point of infinity of hikes by the mountain ranger, we can visit part of the dolmen site, clim some of its summits or admire from the Malloas terrasse the Valley of Araitz.

  We will begin in the industrial population of Irurtzun, next to the defile of Bi ahizpe from whose high point good part of the valley can be contemplated. Talking the detour towards Egiarreta, the hermitage of Santiago de Itxasperri calls our attention. The first town of certain importance, coming by the railway is Hiriberri and soon Uharte-Arakil one of the fortress type towns, fortified in the Middle Age, to defend Valleys of Barranka-Burunda. In its neighborhoods, to the other side of the Arakil river, on the way of San Miguel de Aralar, we can find the romanesque Monastery os S. Maria de Zamartze. Then the towns of Arruazu, Lakuntza, that conserves a XVI Century pillory in its main square and Arbizu a solid medieval tower. We arrive at Etxarri-Aranatz, another village of fortress type with its town council, an old palace, recently recvered.

  From Etxarri onwards and until the border with Alava we find the Valley of Burunda.

  Iturmendi and Urdiain are towns that are worth the visit thanks to their great churches and their beautiful stone large houses, many of which are blazoned. In Iturmendi we can visit the hermitage of Aritzaga of rectangular plant, that must have been the parish of the deserted village of the same name. The romanesque facade has three semicircular archivolts, there are two capitals to each side, carved with animals looking at each other. A series of six "canecillos" ends the salient body of the cover that would have maintained a tile roof. We can also go along the PR 130 NA that crosses the urban area from north to south, passing along the well preserved remains of the Roman road, or txondorrak or coal charcoal stacks where they made charcoal. We can also see the dolmen of Bernoa on the border with Gipuzkoa or the one of Santamarinako arrihaundi in the environs of the hermitage of Santa  Marina.

  Altsasu and Olazti are industrialized towns that have lost their rural charm. In Altsasu you can visite the church of the Asuncion and the hermitage of Santo Cristo de Otadia, or the one of San Pedro, located on the border between Altsasu and Urdiain, or the field of the same name surrounded by crntennial oaks, in the main door it conserves in his threshold the inscription that proclaims the coronation of Garzia Ximenez like first King of the Kingdom of Navarre on the 20th of January of year 717.

  In Olazti the church of San Miguel is a magnificent church-fortress of XVI Century. At Olazti stasts the road that goes up the Mountain Ranger of Urbasa.

 

They are two mountain ranges in the south of Sakana between the humid Navarre of Northeast and Lizarraldea.

  Because of its geologic, biological, ecological, landscaping and archaeological value, they were declared natural park in March of 1997.

  In order to see them, we will take the road that takes to the por and the viewpoint of Lizarraga. At the end of the port we go through the tunnel and we come out to the slope of Lizarraldea, on the Valley of Zunbeltz, dividing line between Urbasa and Andia.

  The other entry to Urbasa the NA-7185 road that starts at Olazti, it is a port very closed bends, this road crosses the mountain range from north to south. It is not allowed to drivee along the cattle tracks excep along the Otsaportillo road, in an pleasant path among the beeches that crosses great part of the inner eastern zone of the mountain range until a aterpe (montain shelter) that is controlled by the mountain club, Altsasuko Mendigoizaleak, of Altsasu.

  The main road crosses the moor of Bioitza where can find a campsite of the same name, after going next to Arafekozulo Iturri (Source of the mosquitos) we arrive at the palace of Urbasa, from whose neighbor-hoods it is possible to obtain a good view of themoor, scattered with bovine, equine and ovine cattle finally the road goes on towards the spring of the Urederra and goes up the port towards the Amescoas and Lizarraldea.















                              

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