Page 140 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Spain

138  NOR THERN SP AIN

houses in Lesaka have wooden
balconies under deep eaves. The
road south passes hills dotted
with white farmsteads to reach
Igantzi, (Yanci), with its red-and-
white houses. Arantza is the most
re mote town. Since the 12th
century, pigeons have been
caught in huge nets strung
across a pass above Etxalar
(Echalar). At the summit of Canopy over the Virgin and Child in the
La Rhune on the French bor der Colegiata Real, Roncesvalles
is a great view of the Pyrenees.
h Roncesvalles
g Elizondo Navarra. * 34. n Antiguo Molino
s/n, 948 76 03 01. _ Día de la
Navarra. * 7,700. @ n Palacio Virgen de Roncesvalles (8 Sep).
Basque houses in the picturesque town de Arizkunenea, 948 58 12 79 (closed ∑ roncesvalles.es
of Etxalar, Valle de Bidasoa winter). ( Thu. _ Santiago (25 Jul).
∑ baztan.eus Roncesvalles (Orreaga), on the
f Las Cinco Villas Spanish side of a pass through
del Valle de Bidasoa This is the biggest of a string the Pyrenees, is a ma jor halt on
of typical Basque villages in the
the Road to Santiago (see pp86–7).
Navarra. @ Pamplona, San Sebastián. very beautiful valley of Baztán. Before it be came associated with
n 948 63 12 22 (Easter week & By the river are noble houses the pil grim’s way, Roncesvalles
summer; 948 59 23 86 rest of year). bearing coats of arms. was the site of a major battle
∑ turismo.navarra.es; Arizkun, further up the val ley, in 778, in which the Basques
∑ baztan-bidasoa.com has old fortified houses and a of Navarra slaughtered the
17th-century convent. The rear guard of Charlemagne’s
Five attractive Basque towns lie Cueva de Brujas, in Zugarramurdi, army as it marched home ward.
in or near this valley, the most was once a meeting place This event is described in the
northerly being Bera (Vera). The for witches. 12th-century French epic
poem The Song of Roland.
The 13th-century Colegiata
Real, which has served trav ellers
down the centuries, has a silver-
plated Virgin and Child below
a high canopy. In the graceful
chapterhouse, off the cloister,
is the white tomb of Sancho VII
the Strong (1170–1234), looked
down upon by a stained-glass
window of his great victory, the
battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (see
pp58–9). Exhibits in the church
museum include “Charlemagne’s
chess board”, an enamelled reli-
quary which is so called because
of its chequered design.

j Valle de Roncal
Navarra. @ from Pamplona. n Paseo
Julian Gayarre s/n, Roncal, 948 47 52
56; Isaba, 948 89 32 51.
∑ vallederoncal.es
Running perpendicular to the
Pyrenees, this valley is still largely
reliant on sheep, and the village
of Roncal is known for its
cheeses. Because of the valley’s
relative isolation, the inhabitants
The forested countryside around Roncesvalles have preserved their own
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp563–4 and pp585–6

138-139_EW_Spain.indd 138 26/09/17 11:00 am
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.1)
Date 5th December 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm