The Definitive Guide to Goierri

We make our own prducts from the farm…

The 40 cows of the Iztueta farmhouse (Lazkao) are very privileged because they live in ‘paradise’, here in Aralar.
The fifth generation of the Intxausti family produces exceptional yoghurt and other dairy products on their farm, which is open to anyone who wants to visit.

In another part of Goierri, in Zerain, Iñaki and Jokin, with the help of their grandmothers and father, run an organic vegetable garden – Mendarte – where they cultivate seasonal produce.
In the present season, now it is the turn of chives, pumpkin and cauliflower, which the two men will sell themselves at the Ordizia market and at other fairs in the region.
Some 15 gastronomic fairs are held throughout the year in the villages of Goierri, places where you can buy products directly from the people who make them.

We go to the market & then we cook!

The chefs speak with pride about the Ordizia Market, which has been held every Wednesday for more than 500 years.
In Goierri we cook according to the season, with products from the farmhouses in the region and the surrounding area, which are sold at this very old, traditional market but also at other fairs in the Goierri region.
The Martinez bar-restaurant – 130 years old – is just a few metres from the Ordizia market and, of course, Wednesday is always the ‘big day’ there.
Xabier Martinez is the fourth generation of ownership of this legendary bar.

We go to the market & then we cook!

Seasonal produce is sacred in every corner of Goierri. Hidden away in the village of Ormaiztegi is the Kuko restaurant, currently run by Iñaki and Iñigo.
It has always been a point of reference in the area, but nowadays it is firmly established in the gourmet guides.

In Ondarre, very close to the medieval quarter of Segura, the Goiburu family has shown us their sheep. Visitors have the chance to stay in their farmhouse and find out how Idiazabal cheese is made.
In the villages of Goierri there are different types of accommodation where you can stay: hotels, agritourism, rural houses, tourist flats, guesthouses, hostels and two caravan parks. You can find all the information on our website.

For more than 20 years the people of Zegama have been sharing their love of the mountains with elite runners from all over the world and mountain running enthusiasts, as they take part in the Zegama-Aizkorri marathon.
Zegama village lives in the shadow of Aizkorri, the highest mountain in the Basque Country. The Aizkorri is an icon, almost a religion in Zegama.
Everyone in Zegama gets involved in this famous 42km mountain marathon that fills the town with runners – with 500 participants.
It is so popular that some 10,000 people sign up to take part in the bib draw. You can also do the route on your own and at your own pace, all year round, because it is waymarked.
And don’t forget the Ehunmilak Ultra-Trail trilogy, three mountain races of different distances that will leave you speechless.

Giants and witches

Goierri is the land of giants, witches and other Basque mythological beings.
This universe full of mystery is palpable in the village of Ataun, where José Miguel Barandiaran was born. He is considered the patriarch of Basque culture – he lived for more than 100 years – and dedicated himself to compiling old customs, beliefs, legends and popular stories of the Basque Country.
The Barandiaran Museum, a little known and very interesting place, is hidden in a stone house with a mill, in Ataun.
A perfect plan is to combine a museum visit with a walk through the Aralar Natural Park, starting from Lizarrusti and finishing off with a txuleta (beef chop) in the Urbitarte cider house, in the village of Ataun.

Here we speak Basque, the oldest language in Europe. A language even more archaic than Latin, with a mysterious origin and very difficult to learn. Basque is unclassifiable. It has nothing to do with any language you know.
The pupils of the Maizpide barnetegi school) know this. Learning Basque at this boarding school in the village of Lazkao is a perfect choice: with classes, but also with a unique Basque-speaking atmosphere, to live in Basque and learn our language in a natural way.
What is the most beautiful word in Basque?
Pinpilinpauxa (butterfly) has been chosen as the most beautiful word.
In the villages of Goierri, Basque is heard everywhere: kaixo (hello), eskerrik asko (thank you), egun on (good morning) or zabalik (open).

There is always a bar open, a party or a fair for all ages.
Here too, children have a great time in the Goierri way: climbing the mountain or walking along the cycle paths (we call them ‘bidegorri’).
We like the Mutiloa-Ormaiztegi greenway, and also the orienteering games along the Lizarrusti (Ataun), Segura and Zegama circuits. For the less active people we have a talus workshop and of course, we are surrounded by mountains and there are countless green routes and paths -very green.

We make every excuse to go to a cider house with the family or our cuadrilla (group of friends).
The cider house festival – the legendary ‘txotx’ – runs from January to April, four months (!) and is the best time to visit a cider house, although most of them are open all year round.
The typical cider house menu consists of: a pintxo of chorizo sausage, cod omelette, cod tacos, txuleta and for dessert, Idiazabal cheese with quince jelly or apple and walnut jam.
Some cider houses give tours of their cellars and explain all the secrets of this ancestral tradition. You can find a description of each cider house in our cider house guide on the web.

Recovering historical memory with graffiti

The urban artist Balu has made this spectacular seven-layered work, with only the help of his brother and with stencils and old images of the spa, which was built in 1889. He lives in Barcelona where, in addition to his art, he runs his own gallery, the Canal Gallery.
Every time he returns to Goierri and passes by his mural he asks himself ‘how on earth did I do this?’

Recovering historical memory with graffiti

Murals and graffiti in black and white, with geometric lines signed by the great Goierri artist Igor Rezola Iztueta, appear as a surprise on the most hidden of walls.