The Zugarramurdi Oak and some caves

A lovely walk starting from the beautiful village of Les Sorcières. Magnificent views of the Basque peaks and the ocean in the distance.

Details

n°200184

Creation:
24 Jan 2016

Last update:
25 May 2018

Last review:
05 Mar 2026

Activity: Walking
Distance: 6.67 km
Average duration: 2h 35
Difficulty: Moderate
Back to start: Yes
Ascent: + 225 m
Descent: - 218 m
Highest point: 306 m
Lowest point: 161 m

Country: Spain
Areas: Pyrenees, Basque Country
District: Zugarramurdi
Start/End: N 43.270275° / W 1.54148°
IGN map(s): Ref. 1245OT
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Photos

the big branch on the left has fallen off.

Description of the walk

Start: Cross the border at Dantxaria, turn right at the traffic circle towards Zugarramurdi. Reach the village and park in the large car park of the Trinquet. This is the starting point for the hike.

(S/E) Reach Place de l'Église, go up the small street alongside the "Herriko Jatetxea" restaurant, then turn left on the yellow and white signposted path to Urdax. Follow this path, first cemented, then tarmacked, through a small gate, to take the "stones and earth" path opposite.

Go down a few steps, cross a stream and go through (and close) a gate. Follow the same signs to reach an area of beautiful farms.

(1) At the San Esteban chapel (you can ring the bell and quench your thirst at the tap). 100m further down, you reach the road.
Cross it and go straight on. We soon come to a farm selling cheese, which we'll meet again on the way back.

(2) Climb uphill (South)! Continue to the crossroads.

(3) Follow the road uphill (North-East) for a few hundred metres, then turn left onto the downhill path marked "AxularenTxokoa" (not shown on the map). The descent can be tricky if the ground is soggy.

(4) On the way down, enjoy the view across Dantxaria and its Ventas, and also the large quarry. Reach a crossroads with a magnificent oak tree, highly original in shape and size.

(5) Take the track on the left which descends gently, passing a stream and then a Canadian walkway.
Arriving at a large shed, take the wide track opposite which heads towards the road.

(6) On your left, notice the entrance to a cave.
Just before you reach the road, take the left-hand path marked with a small blue horse (this marking will be found frequently). Go up this long path, reaching a sheepfold which can be bypassed to the right.

(7) Immediately afterward, go back down this beautiful path along a rocky ledge with numerous cavities. Continue South to reach a road. Turn right and go horizontally to reach the farm.

(2) From here, return to the starting point along the same route as before (S/E)

Waypoints

S/E : km 0 - alt. 199 m - Zugarramurdi - Trinquet car park
1 : km 1.24 - alt. 180 m - San Esteban Chapel
2 : km 1.45 - alt. 190 m - Farm
3 : km 2.81 - alt. 293 m - Crossroads
4 : km 3.33 - alt. 239 m - Descent with view of Dantxaria
5 : km 3.51 - alt. 190 m - Large oak
6 : km 4.07 - alt. 180 m - Grotto
7 : km 4.56 - alt. 185 m - Rocky bar path
S/E : km 6.67 - alt. 199 m - Zugarramurdi - Trinquet car park

Notes

Please note_: Pipe work (!) on the course is blocking access between points (5). and (6)__.
I'm writing this on 25/05/18 and I think there's another 1 month of work ahead.
The other possibility to see the oak is the hike that starts from Urdax and goes through Azkar.
What's more, at the beginning of this month, the oak suffered enormously and one of its main branches fell to the ground.
It really hurts (see photo).

Warning: Avoid this hike when the weather is very wet and the ground soggy: at (4), the descent becomes tricky.

Gears: Poles are needed for the descent to the oak trees.

Facilities: water available at Chapelle San-Esteban.

Worth a visit

During the hike, the farmhouse cheese is of good quality.
The village of Zugarramurdi is magnificent, with its well-kept Navarrese buildings, flower-filled balconies and witch museum.
In Dantxaria, there are numerous Ventas for shopping and buying petrol.

Reviews and comments

3.9 / 5

Based on 14 reviews

Reliability of the description
3.8 / 5

Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5

Route interest
3.5 / 5

mpetitjean

05 Mar 2026 at 15:24 3600

After point 6: as you approach the sheepfold, the indicated passage is no longer possible:
a wall has been built and a fence now blocks access.
Therefore, do not follow the direct route. Continue along the path and go around the sheepfold on the left. The path remains visible and allows you to rejoin the original route a little further on without difficulty.

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y sabourin

13 Oct 2025 at 10:57 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 09, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

a beautiful hike, the thousand-year-old oak tree is enormous. You'll pass through pastoral areas, forests, and enjoy a few views of the meadows below.

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User 6822095

26 Aug 2025 at 15:00 7200

I haven't done this hike yet. I tried to go see the oak tree starting from Urdax. The trail was poorly marked, and I got lost in the ferns. The area is full of ticks!

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farges jean louis

04 Nov 2024 at 17:26 3600

I have not done this walk

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etxen

10 Feb 2023 at 10:19 3600

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

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

There are no difficulties on this walk, which takes place mainly on tarmac roads, concrete slabs or wide forest tracks.
Access to the caves is almost impossible because of the vegetation and a gate blocks access.
A very disappointing route.

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Cimolaï

15 Nov 2021 at 09:00 3600

Overall rating : 1 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 15, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : Not used / Not applicable
Very busy route : No

So poorly explained that we couldn't find the start and ended up doing another hike!

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msoumet

24 Aug 2021 at 10:00 7200

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 24, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Walk on 23 August 2021 under a beautiful sun.
Very nice little walk, not very busy. Great to do before going to a restaurant, for example... We kept to the timetable without any problems.
Can be done in the opposite direction if it's raining, so that you get the steep sections on the way up rather than on the way down.
There are a few minor corrections to be made to the description:
-in 5: take the widest path down to the right.
-in 6: the path passes to the left of the farmhouse at the start of the climb, no sheepfold seen afterwards.
The GPX trace remains useful in case of ambiguity.

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grandin

05 Aug 2019 at 09:54 7200

Paqui77

And without signposting, perhaps too discreet in the field, wasn't it possible to do this walk with the description and the map?

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Paqui77

05 Aug 2019 at 09:50 7200

Overall rating : 1.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 05, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing

very badly signposted, so very disappointed.

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grandin

11 Jun 2019 at 15:34 7200

I've changed the scale of the map to make it easier to read.

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Hélène Mamou

11 Jun 2019 at 14:33 7200

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 11, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

Hello, good overall, but it's a shame you can't zoom in on the map because the numbers are superimposed and you can't see which number corresponds to which.
The directions to the oak tree and the stream are not precise enough. We ended up at the entrance to a farm.
This route is not very interesting.

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joetcheve

14 May 2018 at 08:54 7200

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 10, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

We hiked in the rain and one descent was very slippery, so the poles were a great help.
The directions were good except at the end at the hangar (the long path in front of us or the hangar?).
So we took the wrong one and yet we found a path to the left later almost to the road with a blue horse as indicated on the explanation but it wasn't the right one. So we walked along the road for a while.
Do it again in dry weather

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Grumeaux64

23 Apr 2018 at 10:42 7200

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 23, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

Quite pleasant, but dry weather is essential.
Not very beautiful in places, but this walk has the merit of starting from Zugarramurdi, which is a magnificent little village.
As for the rest, it's pretty unremarkable except for the passage next to the caves, which is quite pretty. I did this walk with children aged 6 and a half without any particular problems.

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Jacques Bomassi

11 Jan 2018 at 12:22 3600 • Edited: 11 Jan 2018 at 12:23 3600

the hike from the caves of Sare to Zugarramurdi doesn't go through the oak tree!

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jeanlouispinte

11 Jan 2018 at 11:26 3600

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 10, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

We had a little trouble finding our bearings at the end of the return journey: we couldn't find the route signs to avoid following the main road.

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Author

Jacques Bomassi
50 Walks

Visorando member

A walk translated by Michèle Christensen - Original version

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