Trekking in Navarre. Sport in a natural setting

TIPS BEFORE SETTING OFF

· Check the weather forecast.

· Take information on the route and a map with you.

· Do not forget to take a water bottle and something to eat.

· Switch off your mobile phone, but have the battery charged up just in case.

· Find out if you need to take special clothes/equipment etc., especially in winter.

MOST COMMON SIGNS

Pilgrim’s Wayto Santiago

Long distance (GR)

Short distance (PR)

Local path (SL)

Greenways

Pathcontinues

Sharp changeof direction

Changeof direction

Wrongdirection

Path to the Chapel of Idoia in Isaba

Published by: Government of Navarre - Design: EPC Camarena - Printed by: Gráficas UrdinTranslation: trinor.com - Photographs: Tourist Service archives - Copyright Library No.: NA-3003/2010

If you enjoy more relaxed trekking, stopping off at pla-ces to pause a while, enjoy the surroundings, these are the paths for you. With light walking boots or trainers – unless weather conditions recommend otherwise – you can take easy walks of between 4 and 10 kilometres with altitude changes of no more than 300 metres.

Thematic, Interpretiveor Local Paths

If you really want to feel the diversity of our land and its nature and culture, cross it on foot. Prepare your back-pack carefully and plunge yourself into the countryside for a number of days, it all depends on how long you want to walk. You will need to be fit and motivated, but the effort is always worthwhile. There is nothing better than travelling at the speed of your own stride, walking up a mountain pass and entering another valley, often with a different landscape and sometimes even a diffe-rent language and culture. If you travel across Navarre on foot you will never forget the experience.

Long-distanceTrekking Route

The trains on which our grandparents travelled across Navarre no longer exist, but the places they passed are now extraordinary walks, quiet places in the heart of nature a long way from roads and the noise of modern life. There is certainly no place for the motor car here. You can go section by section on foot or by bicycle, and even make a trip lasting several days, recalling the era when the clackety-clack of the train broke the silence of the countryside. These routes have a great advantage: when did you ever see a train having to climb a steep gradient?

Greenways

If you are travelling with children, or you have limited mobility, or you simply do not want to get too tired, you can still enjoy natural settings. In Navarre you will find paths that are ideal for the little ones, a wheelchair user, or for yourself, paths that will take you to places of spectacular beauty; unique spots where you will be able to enjoy wide open spaces without giving anything up.

AdaptedPaths

If you like open-air sports or exploring spectacular landscapes, if you enjoy looking at a map and discove-ring new routes, markers, country tracks… well, just put your boots on and head for the countryside, climb moun-tains, follow forest paths, or let yourself be stunned by the magic of the desert along routes of between 8 and 20 kilometres. If you inform yourself well about altitude changes and the time needed, as well as about the wea-ther, you will surely enjoy your adventure.

Mountain orShort-Distance Path TREKKING

IN NAVARRENavarre surprises the visitor with the variety of its landscape, which makes it the perfect place for all kinds of trekking: from a quiet stroll with the family along signposted routes to the adventure of starting off for a long trek that will last several days.

The itineraries are so different that you can choose between the desert-like landscape of the Bardenas in the south, the high mountain peaks of the Pyre-nees in the north and east, the bucolic scenery of the Atlantic woods in the northwest or the appeal of walking through vineyards and cereal fields in the central zone.

Another interesting aspect, apart from the variety of natural settings, is the rich and ancient culture of Navarre that impregnates each of the itineraries with legend, history, religious devotion or interes-ting ethnological features.

Some routes are universal, such as the four bran-ches of the “Pilgrim’s Way to Santiago” that cross Navarre. Others are closely linked to the land, such as the cañada real (sheep transhumance trail) from the Roncal valley to the Bardenas, in others you can enjoy the natural beauty of the region in a relaxed way in the form of greenways, while other routes co-ver long distances and require a certain effort and a good level of physical fitness.

Basically, Navarre is an authentic paradise for people who love walking, a place you should not miss the opportunity to visit, even though you might happily get lost in it.

Bardenas in autumn

Bridge in Belagua

+ info: www.turismo.Navarre.es in the section “Sports in Nature”