Only 38 minutes away from San Sebastián, Zegama is located in a privileged rural setting at the bottom of the mountains of Aizkorri-Aratz. Back in the day, it boasted a strategic location: anyone who wanted to reach the province of Guipúzcoa had to cross Zegama.
This becomes apparent after seeing San Adrián’s tunnel, crossed by an old Roman road and part of Camino de Santiago -track of the pilgrimage route to Santiago, in Galicia-. They also have a fortress that used to protect the tunnel, with a hermitage inside.
If you walk towards the valley, you will find three more hermitages -Sancti Spiritu, Nuestra Señora de las Nieves and San Pedro-. From the top of mount Aizkorri, the highest peak in the Basque Country -1,528 metres-, you can get amazing views of the whole region of Goierri, and even other parts of Guipúzcoa and the plains of Alava.
At the top of Aizkorri, you can see the hermitage of Santa Cruz, where its famous cross used to be kept. That piece, one of the oldest of Gupúzcoa’s sacred art collection, is now safely preserved in the church of Zegama. More buildings in the town centre are: the church of San Martín, that holds the remains of the Carlist general Zumalacárregui as well as the cross above mentioned, the City Hall, the Akarama Mill, and the Centre of Interpretation of the Natural Park of Aizkorri-Aratz.
The most unique event in this town the Zegama-Aizkorri Marathon: an iconic race held in May that brings leading athletes to the town from all over the world.
