Baztan Valley

The Baztan is the largest valley in Navarra, a bowl of green hills and beech woods draining north toward France, with fifteen villages of large stone caserios, farmhouses with carved coats of arms over the doors, since the valley's inhabitants were collectively granted noble status. Elizondo is the main town. To the north at Zugarramurdi, a cave with a stream running through it was the alleged site of witches' gatherings, and in 1610 the Logrono Inquisition tried dozens of people from the area, condemning eleven to death - six burned alive and five, who had died in prison, burned in effigy; a museum in the village covers the trials and the herbalist traditions behind the accusations. The valley became widely known in Spain through Dolores Redondo's Baztan crime novels and their film adaptations.

What you'll find

• The caserios - large stone farmhouses with carved family arms.
• The Zugarramurdi cave - a stream cave linked to the 1610 witch trials.
• The witch museum - the Inquisition trials and their context explained.
• The beech woods - green Atlantic forest across the valley slopes.

When to go

April to June and September to November; the valley is genuinely wet, with rain likely in any season, and autumn colour is the visual peak. Zugarramurdi holds a summer solstice festival in June.

Practical notes

Rain is frequent and the valley is often under cloud. Villages are small with limited eating outside weekends. The witch trial material is grim and the museum does not soften it.

Nearby

The French border is a few kilometres north; Pamplona lies fifty-eight kilometres south.

Key facts