Woods and chapels on the Way of St James from Ostabat

A lovely circular, mostly shaded and offering beautiful views of the Pyrenees.
Discover two pretty chapels on the Way of St James.

Details

7231346
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.28 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 15 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 362 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 363 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 304 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 114 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the car park behind the pelota court.

(S/E) Cross the road and go down the small staircase to the right of the town hall. You will come out onto a small square. Take the street on the left that goes downhill. After 250 m, turn left. Cross the ford. Take a wet and stony path. After about 400 m, at a totem-shaped statue, take the road on the right for 25 m.

(1) Turn left onto a path marked in red and, 150 metres further on, take the road that climbs to the left, heading north to the Urkamendia farm.

(2) At the farm, leave the road and go up the path opposite, then turn immediately right through a galvanised gate.

(3) At the crossroads, take the track opposite that climbs between two fields of ferns. After 300 m, enter the forest.

(4) Further on, still in the forest, leave the track and turn left, continuing in a generally northerly direction.

(5) Further on, still in the forest, do not descend to the right, but climb up opposite. The track climbs gently in stages.

(6) Pass the Fontaine de la Vierge, which is located well below the track, hidden in the forest. Continue along the track.

(7) At the top of the climb, go left through the galvanised gate and immediately follow the path to the right towards the west until you reach the Chapel of Soyarza and its various steles, statues and sculptures.

(8) From there, turn right, heading south on the Way of St James to the stele dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

(9) Further on, after the stele, turn right, join the track and continue on the GR®65 to the place called Haranbeltz.

(10) In the hamlet, you will find the Chapel of Saint Nicholas of Myra.
25 m further on, turn right and continue along the Way of St James.

(11) At the bottom of the descent, at the crossroads, take the path opposite and pass in front of a large stone cross. 500 m further on, reach the road and take it on the left, following theGR®65markings for 1.2 km.

(1) Return to the path you took on the way there by turning left.
Follow the route in reverse to reach the centre of the village and the car park behind the pelota court (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 164 m - Car park behind the pelota court
  2. 1 : km 0.91 - alt. 159 m - Crossroads of the circular
  3. 2 : km 1.36 - alt. 194 m - Urkamendia Farm
  4. 3 : km 1.84 - alt. 223 m - Crossroads
  5. 4 : km 2.66 - alt. 220 m - Fork in the road
  6. 5 : km 3.37 - alt. 193 m - Climb opposite
  7. 6 : km 4.86 - alt. 247 m - Fontaine de la Vierge
  8. 7 : km 5.4 - alt. 293 m - Gate
  9. 8 : km 6.05 - alt. 290 m - Soyarza Chapel
  10. 9 : km 6.81 - alt. 232 m - Stele on the left-hand side
  11. 10 : km 7.68 - alt. 144 m - Chapelle Saint-Nicolas (Myre)
  12. 11 : km 8.28 - alt. 166 m - Crossroads
  13. S/E : km 11.28 - alt. 163 m - Parking at the pelota court

Notes

Toilets at the bottom of the town hall stairs.
Drinking water points at the chapels.

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 17 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.4 / 5
User 11030458

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 15, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Overall, a fairly easy hike
The arrival at the chapel is very pretty, with a bird's eye view of the valley

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hilaire.vachon
hilaire.vachon
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 05, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A very pleasant hike. The fountain is really well hidden but fortunately close to the main path. At point 6, you have to go down the path on the right for 25 to 30 metres and then turn right again into the bushes to find the steps leading to the fountain. At the top, there were quite a few people at the chapel. On the way back, we didn't take the path at point 1, but instead took the road, which gave us a nice view of the village.

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ayout
ayout

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 08, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful, easy circular walk with a wonderful reward: the view from the chapel.
You can start by taking the road to point 1, and on the way back, follow the markings by the ford.

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Valfonie
Valfonie

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 26, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

When we passed by, the path between the start and point 1 was no longer accessible (closed off with a rope). You have to take the road. It doesn't add any extra time, it's just a little less pleasant for your legs.
The yellow markings are clearly visible for the rest of the hike.

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cricri817
cricri817

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 19, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

In Ostabat, it was difficult to find the way to the start. But once we found it, it was a great route.

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Aurelspel
Aurelspel

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 04, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A lovely walk in beautiful sunshine
For reference points, just follow the yellow markings
Magnificent view upon arriving at the chapel

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Montmartin
Montmartin

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 16, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike. After some serious climbs in the shade, you are rewarded with a superb 360-degree panorama.

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HJC
HJC
• Edited:

Yellow markings less visible, muddy forest track with logging despite dry weather for several days. It was only when we reached the last barrier just before the summit field and the chapel that we were rewarded! Superb panorama, ideal weather 18°C, no wind, good visibility.
The return journey to Ostabat was pleasant and easy. At this time of year, when the vegetation in the forest has not yet started to grow, it is best to stick to the direct return trip to the chapel.

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Breizh-BeaPB
Breizh-BeaPB

A very pleasant hike in hot weather with enjoyable conversations with fellow pilgrims.
In addition to the red and white GR markings, we encountered yellow and orange markings... These colours were not mentioned in the description of the hike "WOODS AND CHAPELS OF THE DUCHEMIN DE SAINT-JACQUES FROM OSTABAT"! We ended up using the GPS on our phone to find our way.

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berdot.annie@neuf.fr
berdot.annie@neuf.fr

Overall rating : 1 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 15, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Very busy route : No

Hello, just to let you know that only sections -1 and 8 -1 (very frequent on the Camino de Santiago) were properly marked. Your description of 1 to 8 is unusable, even though there are many beautiful paths and trails. We met several people who had lost their way and never made it to the chapel... and we walked 10.5 km (instead of 6 km according to your description) in 2 hours. It was very pretty, but had nothing to do with your description of sections 1 to 8...
No doubt you are not responsible for the signposting... so no hard feelings; I am a regular reader of your descriptions. Keep helping us discover these beautiful places and THANK YOU

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harispe
harispe

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 01, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very interesting route that we did in reverse. On the way back through the woods, we went to see the Virgin's Fountain, taking an exotic detour of about a hundred metres.
An easy outing with the possibility of a picnic in fine weather.

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annette aupy
annette aupy

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 03, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

not a very pleasant route, too much tarmac and concrete...

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Nat'Halie
Nat'Halie
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 09, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pretty circular from Ostabat-Asme.
I was able to reach La Chapelle de Soyarce via different routes, but this one is the most beautiful.
A magnificent view of our Pyrenees when the weather permits.
This route is busier on the part of the St Jacques trail depending on the season.
However, I was very disappointed with the St Jacques section, as there is no longer a forest track; it has been replaced by a cycle path, which is good for cyclists, but only if cars don't use it! Yet we came across two cars! I can only imagine what it will be like this summer!

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isabelle 64150
isabelle 64150

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 22, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful, well-marked route

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Murielle Biez
Murielle Biez

Wonderful hike. We met mushroom pickers and enthusiastic pilgrims. The chapels are magnificent.

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