Around Bidarray

Date of your route : Jul 29, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The descent is impassable, the path is completely unmaintained and difficult to see, descending through dense forest without being able to see your feet! And there is a mistake in the route between points 4 and 5: there is no left turn, you have to turn well before that onto a small, unmaintained path if you want to get back on the road. In short, for holiday hikers, this is a very stressful hike.

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Date of your route : May 24, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful hike of moderate difficulty. Magnificent view of the village. Be careful in rainy weather, however, as there is a high risk of slipping.

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Thank you for all these useful details.
This trail is quite old and the terrain is changing.
Kind regards.

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Date of your route : Jul 07, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello.
A very pleasant hike, mostly shaded and not very busy... which means that the (yellow) markings are old and often very faded. A few comments:
- there is a car park immediately on the left after crossing the bridge, which allows you to start the hike going uphill rather than downhill
- The artisan bakery no longer exists; it has moved near the town hall (at the top of the village). However, its sign is still there (but for how long?). That being said, it is clearly indicated to cross the bridge at point 2.
- "This road climbs up to a signpost": the sign no longer exists and unfortunately, at the point where you have to turn right (backwards), the IGN map shows a track suitable for vehicles, whereas it is actually a path that is quite overgrown at the start. So be careful not to miss it! If you come to a small bridge, you have gone too far!
- At point 3, the steep path near the houses is easy to find, as there is still a yellow mark. After that, there are practically no more marks, but the landscape is superb.
- At the small sheepfold, the yellow mark for the right turn is there... but further down (at point 4) on the path that continues towards St Martin d'Arossa, it is only there for those going uphill! However, there is no problem between points 4 and 5, as the path is well marked.
This hike is highly recommended during the tourist season as it is not very busy.

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Thank you for this comment.
I don't understand the comment about the problem with the route between (4) (sheepfold) and (5).
This path did exist when I surveyed it, and previous reviews have not mentioned this problem.
Visorando and the author are not responsible for the trail markings.
The description, which is as accurate as possible, is there to replace it, especially since markings can fade over the years.

Kind regards

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Date of your route : Jun 06, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

The trail between 4 and 5 does not match the description.
More visible markings would be very helpful.
We found ourselves in the middle of brambles with no landmarks. We turned back and crossed blindly to find ourselves back on the trail. Another app was very helpful.

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Date of your route : Feb 14, 2020
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very enjoyable hike. As it had rained in the previous days, we were unable to climb to point 3 (too muddy and slippery). We reached return point 5 and took the "return" route to the summit at the sheepfold (where we had a picnic), passing through point 4, then descended by the same planned return route (4-5-6-....)
At the bottom, we walked along the little stream, which made us want to cool our feet... Once we arrived in Bidarray, we finished with a small Basque beer and a visit to the media library with self-service books!

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Date of your route : Sep 02, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

I more or less kept up. In the end, it was over 500 metres of elevation gain!

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Date of your route : Feb 25, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

It's difficult to predict how long it will take between each point.
It's not always easy to set off in the right direction.
A bit too much tarmac, which detracts from the charm of the hike

The description of the route is satisfactory.

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Thank you for the comment.
It allowed me to verify this hike, which I did almost four years ago.
I was able to add some details about the directions.

However, I am unable to say how long it took between each waypoint. I do not use GPS, and the concept of duration is always very uncertain.

All the best with Visorando.

FLOCH

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Date of your route : May 31, 2015
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

HELLO

I would make two suggestions to improve the description of the hike:

1. Indicate the average time for each numbered section.
2. Indicate the direction of departure for each numbered section.

Otherwise, it's great to be able to locate yourself directly on the route shown on the map.

JJ PERREAU

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Hello,
I don't know these routes specifically, but be careful, because often in communities or municipalities, the people who provide information about the routes are not hikers themselves. Worse still, in some cases, they send a municipal employee on a trail marking course, they receive a grant, and then it's a complete mess!

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Good evening,

I think there is some confusion between two routes: the one published by the Garazi-Baïgori community of municipalities and the one by Visorando.

The routes are not quite the same.

M.FLOCH

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The route is classified as a family walk by the Garazi-Baigorri community of municipalities and is marked with orange signs.

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I am the author of this route and would like to clarify a few points.

I did indeed call it "Around Bidarray": this route includes some small country roads, but I think the figure of 90% is far from accurate.
It is not entirely a mountain route.

I classified this route as moderate, not "very easy family walk".

I did it in June 2013 and vegetation had reclaimed some of the less-travelled paths. Stormy weather can also make certain sections tricky, especially near waterways.

Best regards.

M.FLOCH

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