Othegane loop from Bunus

Starting from the pretty little village of Bunus, this hike off the beaten track allows you to discover a pastoral mountain offering an original panorama of the Larceveau valleys and the sources of the Bidouze. The village of Bunus has the particularity of being "cut" in two by the D918 road. The town hall is therefore quite far from the church district, the starting point of this route. Be sure to visit the church porch, where you can see three ancient tombs.

Details

64351707
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.64 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 30 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 365 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 371 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 514 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 156 m

Photos

Description of the walk

From the village of Larceveau, take the D918 towards Mauléon-Licharre. After 4.3 km (Bunus town hall), turn left onto the road that leads to the church district, the starting point of the hike. Park in the car park just below the church.

(S/E) Head north, leaving the fronton on your right, and follow a small road that branches off to the left between the houses. The road starts off gently sloping, then climbs steeply. Continue to the end of the tarmac.

(1) Continue along a track lined with dense vegetation.

(2) At a fork in an open area, follow the path on the left that heads up the mountainside. Walk north for a long time (generally) until you reach the next track.

(3) Follow the track to the right and uphill. This will take you to a wide grassy ridge.

(4) Continue south, then south-east to reach the summit of Othegane.

(5) Descend on the other side, following a track that first descends to an unnamed pass.

(6) Climb back up in a south-easterly direction and pass close to the summit of Hegiharitz. Continue more or less flat in a south-south-easterly direction until you reach a crossroads of tracks at the foot of Pentzezabala.

(7) Descend by taking the track on the right, which heads south. Turn right.

(8) Ignore a track coming from the left and continue downhill on a damaged tarmac road with several successive bends. Stay on the road, leaving the place called Errekaldea on your right, and you will come to a T-junction at a place called Aroztiega.

(9) Turn right, ignore another road on the right and head towards the church in Bunus (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 185 m - Parking - Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste (Bunus)
  2. 1 : km 1.02 - alt. 303 m - End of the paved road
  3. 2 : km 1.26 - alt. 318 m - Pitchfork
  4. 3 : km 3.03 - alt. 380 m - Track
  5. 4 : km 3.64 - alt. 451 m - Grassy rump
  6. 5 : km 4.26 - alt. 513 m - Othegane (516 m)
  7. 6 : km 4.8 - alt. 466 m - Pass with no name
  8. 7 : km 5.42 - alt. 488 m - Crossroads at the foot of - Pentzezabala (493 m)
  9. 8 : km 5.94 - alt. 425 m - Intersection
  10. 9 : km 8.24 - alt. 156 m - Aroztiega. Near - Bidouze (cours d'eau) - Affluent de l'Adour
  11. S/E : km 8.64 - alt. 186 m - Parking - Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste (Bunus)

Notes

Yellow signposts (PR®®).

Worth a visit

The village of Bunus:
The village of Bunus is divided into two parts. The first, along the D918 road with the town hall and school, and the second, very beautiful, set back from the road, with the church and the fronton.

The church porch:
This church has an original porch with three very old tombstones under it. Although in Basque funeral culture, church floors were often made of tomb slabs, it is quite rare, even today, to see such tombstones in a church porch.

Ossau-Iraty sheep's cheese:
This is a traditional cheese from the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, recognised as an AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée) since 1980 and now as an AOP (Appellation d'Origine Protégée). According to the AOP specifications, only three local sheep breeds are authorised to produce the milk from which it is made: Manech Tête Rousse, Manech Tête Noire and Basco-Béarnaise. In the Othegane area, you are likely to see Manech, Tête Rousse or Tête Noire sheep.

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

4.4 / 5
Based on 3 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
5 / 5
Route interest
4 / 5
cheldep
cheldep

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 31, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful loop starting from the church, beginning with a short, relatively steep paved section. However, the climb to the highest point is fairly moderate and took us 1 hour and 15 minutes. A small section of the forest trail is used by livestock, tractors and logging equipment, so it was very muddy when we visited at the end of March the summit offers a beautiful 360° view, and the bushes can be used as shelter in windy weather. The return trip is on the last quarter of the route on a paved municipal road (which is quite unpleasant), but you can cut across the fields to avoid some of the winding descent back to the village.
for this reason, it seems wise to follow the direction of the ascent (i.e. start on the left when you have the church on your right from the centre of the village), as reversing the loop and starting on the paved winding road would be particularly tedious.

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Marche Santé
Marche Santé

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 10, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The first time, during a reconnaissance trip with my wife, we had to flee from smoke by turning around and leaving the trail, climbing up the mountainside on the first part of the circuit.
Unfortunately, there were no warning signs about the smoke.
The second time, during a second reconnaissance with my wife, everything was fine. The first part of the circuit is quite steep on tarmac, but after that it gets better, and you find the path on the mountainside with a magnificent panorama, typical of the Basque Country.
On Mont Othegane, it's a bit windy, but we stop there for a picnic.
On the way back on the other side of Mont Othegane, we found another paved section of the trail. It wasn't very pleasant for our knees and ankles, but once again we were treated to a feast for the eyes as we took in the landscape before us.
A week later, we did it all again, but this time with a group of 20 people who thoroughly enjoyed the route.
I recommend it.

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Vincent Lafori
Vincent Lafori

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 02, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Very pretty landscapes... Great hike... Just one downside: too many paths or roads suitable for vehicles

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