The Urkiola Natural Park

Like Gorbeia, the Urkiola Natural Park lies partly in Bizkaia and partly in Alava/ Araba. Around 860 hectares of its total area of 5,768 (i.e. around 15%) lie in the municipality of Aramaio, in the "cuadrilla" of Zuia.

The Sierra de Arangio peaks run through this municipality from north to south, dividing it into two distinct areas. The eastern side consists of valleys (over 800 m) where the terrain has been humanised to a large degree, with pasturage, farming hamlets and conifer plantations. On the western side (500 m) large expanses of the original beech woods remain. This is the site of the village of Olaeta and of most of the natural park land, including the highest peak in the area: Orixol (1129 m).

As in Gorbeia, the park area has a mountainous climate influenced by its proximity to the ocean, with rainfall of 1400 - 1500 mm per annum, heavy snowfalls and only slight changes in temperature.

This climate and the orientation of the Arangio hills have allowed extensive beech woods to grow up on the north western and western slopes, to the point where they are the predominant vegetation in the area of the park that lies in Alava/ Araba. The make-up of the local woods is also influenced by human activity, however, with the eastern most arm of the park (towards the 836 m peak of Mount Tellamendi) being covered entirely by replanted pines.

The rest of the Alava/ Araba side of the park is covered with broad stretches of pasturage mixed with scrub land on the slopes and tops of the limestone crags of the Sierra de Arangio.

Erosion of the chalk in these mountains has left the terrain broken and craggy, and opened up a great many caves, crevasses, etc. The landscape is spectacular, especially in the Aramaio valley area, guarded by great rock walls almost bare of vegetation. This valley is known locally as "little Switzerland", as it is reminiscent on a smaller scale of the peaks and valleys of the Alps.

The rocky terrain is home to a wide variety of birds, including griffon vultures, Egyptian vultures, kestrels, etc. and animals such as pine martens and, to a lesser degree, boar and deer.

Several streams running off the hills of Arangio join to form the river Olaeta, which in turn joins the river Urkiola before it empties into the reservoir in Legutiano. These rivers flow towards the Mediterranean. However those on the eastern side of the hills flow into the Aramaio valley to form the river Aramaiona, which flows to the Bay of Biscay.

One of the major attractions of the Urkiola park is the area between the 1330 m peak of Mount Amboto and the shrine of St. Anthony on Urkiola. Both spots lie in Bizkaia, just a few kilometres from the boundary with Alava/ Araba on the Otxandiano road.

Mount Anboto and the shrine provide a blend of mythology and religion and symbolise a host of Basque legends and traditions which have helped make this a very popular area with tourists. According to legend, one of the caves on Mount Anboto is the home of Mari, the goddess of the earth and queen of the spirits of nature. It was to her that prayers for goods or for justice should be addressed. She represented the forces of nature, which could have great influence for good or bad on the people of the area. Shepherds organised processions up the mountain to honour her.

When Christianity spread through the mountains of Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa and Alava/ Araba in the 9th and 10th centuries, good use was made of the tradition of religious beliefs in this area, and a great number of shrines and chapels were set up to identify traditionally pagan elements with Christian teachings. Among them was the shrine of Urkiola.

Tradition says that St. Anthony of Padua travelled through Urkiola in the 14th century and prayed before the image of St. Anthony of Abab. From that time on the church was considered as dedicated to both these saints.

The feast day of St. Anthony is January 17th, but the most important dates of the year at this shrine are June 13th and the following Sunday, when there is an extraordinary festival of local traditions including a cattle fair, local sports, traditional music and dance, improvised Basque verse contests, etc. One of the most famous traditions is that unmarried persons who walk around a great boulder opposite the chapel praying to St. Anthony to find them a bride (or groom) will have their prayers answered.

Near the shrine is the Toki Alai farmhouse, where the park visitors' centre is based. Here, visitors can obtain information on the activities organised in and around the park, as well as maps, route plans, etc. On the Alava/ Araba side, the most attractive walks start from the Kruceta pass and the village of Olaeta.