RONCESVALLE

Historic battlefield descending to deep ravine, on the French border

In this celebrated valley, in the year AD778, the rearguard of Charlemagne's army, led by the legendary Roland, were massacred by infuriated Basques as they tried to slip back into France. Near the battlefield at Roncesvalles there is one of the great oak forests of Europe, the wood of Garralda, where you can obtain at least an inkling of what these Navarran Pyrenees must have looked like in Charlemagne's day. And if you descend from Roncesvalles into the deep ravine called Valcarlos, the old trees seem to leap out at you through the mist and the clouds like the ghosts of Roland's warriors.

This part of northern Navarra has a whole series of fertile valleys that, for the most part, run perpendicular to the main thrust of the Pyrenees — notably the valleys of Aezcoa, Salazar and Roncal with their respective rivers, the Irati, Salazar and Esca. The encircling mountains are rarely higher than 1,500 m (4,920 ft), although the higher peaks afford some splendid panoramic views: Mount Orhí, on the French border, allows you to enjoy a truly international view from a towering 2,017 m (6,617 ft).

The Coto Nacional de Kintoa Real, one of the most westerly nature reserves in the Pyrenees, is centred on Monte Adi (1,459 m/4,785 ft), just west of Roncesvalles. It comprises 5,982 ha (14,780 acres) of mountain woodlands just south of the frontier with France. The French-Spanish border becomes rather capricious and meandering at this point, owing to the unpredictability of the watershed valleys.

Modern life has made some inroads into this ancient landscape. The existence of a television booster antenna marrs the wildness of its heights. Nevertheless, the peak of Orzanzurieta (1,567 m/5,141 ft), just east of Roncesvalles, is a tremendously impressive spot on which to be whipped by the hurricane-like winds that hurl dense clouds across the sky.

BEFORE YOU GO

Maps: IGN 1:25,000 and 1:50,000 Nos. 90, 91, 116 and 117; IGN 1:200,000 Mapa Provincial of Navarra.
Guide-book: Carlos de Hita, Pirineo Navarro y Montes Vascos (Anaya, 1998).

GETTING THERE

By car: the line of retreat taken by Charlemagne is still the main north-south route through this part of the Pyrenees. The N135 runs from Saint Jean Pied-de-Port in France to the border post at Arnéguy and then south-west to Pamplona via Roncesvalles and Auritz-Burguete.
The main east-west road is the so-called Ruta Alpina, a secondary road that runs parallel to the Pyrenees, from C135 just south of Auritz-Burguete to Escároz, located in the Salazar valley.
By bus: there is only 1 bus a day running between Pamplona and Roncesvalles July-Aug. It departs in the afternoon Mon-Sat, and in the morning Sun. Call Montañesa, T: (948) 22 15 84, for more information.

WHERE TO STAY

Roncesvalles itself has 2 1-star hostales, La Posada, T: (948) 76 02 25, and the Casa Sabina, T: (948) 76 00 12. Auritz-Burguete has the very attractive Hotel Loizu, T: (948) 76 00 08; Garralda the small Hotel Auñak, T: (948) 76 40 58, F: 76 43 22; while Isaba, Ochagavía and Luzaide-Valcarlos have any number of casas rurales, small hotels and albergues. In Uscarrés, a little to the south, the Hotel Casa Equiza, T: (948) 47 01 20, boasts typical decor and a sauna.
Outdoor living:the Asolaza, T: (948) 89 30 34, at Isaba, is open all year with capacity for 400 people.

ACTIVITIES

Walking: much of this area is ideal for hiking and camping, or simply driving from village to village, stopping to take strolls through the most inviting forests and meadows — in the Coto Nacional de Kintoa (Quinto Real), for instance.
A cross-country trail leads from Orzanzurieta to the vast oak forest that fills much of the area in the Garralda-Garaioa-Olaldea triangle. Another notable excursion begins just to the north of this forest, at the village of Orbaitzeta, where a path follows the Río Irati into the Aezcoa valley. If the weather holds, you can work your way from valley to valley until you reach the banks of the Río Esca.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Tourist offices:
Palacio de Vallesantoro, C/ Alfonso el Batallador, s/n, 31400 Sangüesa, T: (948) 87 03 29, (Easter-December only);
Pamplona, C/ del Duque de Ahuma, 3, 31002, T: 22 07 41, F: 21 14 62. 
Mountaineering club:
Federación Navarra de Deportes de Montaña y Escalada, Paulino Caballero, 13, 31002 Pamplona, T: (948) 42 78 48, F: 42 78 35.