Xoldoko Gaina - Summit and Lake

Date of your route : Sep 07, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk, very pleasant, with beautiful views of the coast on the first section before crossing over to the other side to reach the lake.
Take care on the final stretch – the turn-off to the left isn’t easy to spot, so you must make sure you leave the main path

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Date of your route : Aug 06, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A short, leisurely hike done at night in rather overcast weather, so unfortunately no views from Xoldokogaina
But still enjoyable!

A good climb right from the start, a plateau on Xoldo and a long, gentle descent to finish.
A slight mistake towards the end at point 6, like several other walkers – just to add a bit of the unexpected to the walk.

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Date of your route : Jul 28, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very lovely walk, easier than the circular walk starting from Biriatou. The climb up to Xoldoko Gaina, in good weather, offers superb views of the coast, from Biarritz to Hondarribia, and then of the nearby Spanish mountains. It’s a bit busy on the section shared with the GR, but then it’s very peaceful as you head towards the lake. Thanks to the fellow walkers who pointed out the little detail at point 6: it saved us from having to take a stony ‘detour’.

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Date of your route : Jul 30, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk with varied trails and mountain and coastal scenery, where you’ll come across plenty of pottoks roaming free

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Date of your route : Jul 21, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk with stunning views of the sea and then the mountains.
The start is quite a steep climb up to the summit, so beginners should take care.
It’s true that junction 6 isn’t very obvious; we missed it and had to turn back. (There’s a hut on your left; the path to follow is above it.)
Otherwise, the rest is brilliant!!

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Date of your route : Apr 22, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant walk with one side facing the sea and the other the mountains and lake. Lovely views and plenty of wildlife.
The start does climb a bit, but it’s still manageable.
Be careful not to miss the fork at point 6, though; I missed it and ended up walking quite a bit further (on flat ground, mind you) to retrace my steps.

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Date of your route : Aug 25, 2025
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

It's not very clear when you leave the car park as there are two options: either turn sharply left onto a very steep climb (which is the option to take), or continue straight ahead, which is what you tend to do naturally.

Then, at the end of the hike, the fork in the path leading back to the car park, after skirting the lake, is really not obvious... We missed it and ended up well below the car park, but fortunately at the bottom of the road leading back to it.

But there are magnificent views of St Jean de Luz, almost as far as Donostia, much closer than from La Rhune.

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Date of your route : Sep 21, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The hike wasn't as easy as expected.
The first part of the climb was very steep over a fairly long distance, so it was very tiring.
Not much visibility of the lake behind the trees.
However, there were beautiful views of the coast and the surrounding mountains.
Be careful on the last part of the hike, as there is a narrow, very stony section on the edge of a steep slope. It's a bit dangerous for children at the end of the hike, especially when they are tired.

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Date of your route : Aug 20, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb hike with a beautiful view of the bay of St Jean de Luz. Thank goodness we had the Visorando GPS, because at the beginning and end of the hike we almost strayed off course!
Thank you, Visorando!

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Hello @Hub33,

This comment, although friendly, clearly does not refer to this route.

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

It was the weekend of 15 August, which meant festivities in Ascain, with the car park at the start occupied by fairground rides. You have to use the car parks at the cemetery.
The entire hike requires a bit of practice and there are a few sections that can be tricky with young children.
We recommend walking sticks and suitable footwear, even though the ground was dry... after the rain... slippery..
We took a wrong turn at the start but managed to find our way back thanks to the app alerts😉. In the end, we covered 9.5 km in 2 hours and 45 minutes.
The stop at the waterfall is really nice, but it's poorly signposted, so you can easily miss it!

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Date of your route : May 03, 2024
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We had a wonderful hike with our 18-month-old son (carried in a backpack) in dry, sunny weather 🙂
We followed the advice to do the circuit in reverse. This meant that we started with what we considered to be the most difficult part. The first kilometre (from point 7 to point 6) is on a very narrow path (often along the edge of a ravine), with lots of vegetation (especially brambles) and the ground covered with large stones that appear to cover a drainage pipe. As you can imagine, this first kilometre was tough going for us! (Perhaps it's easier without young children).
Otherwise, the rest of the hike is really great, and the view is magnificent. We loved it!

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Hello,

The signposting is not provided by Visorando and should not influence your choice of route.
It may be mentioned, but this is anecdotal, as you should rely on other criteria or, better still, use the Visorando mobile app, which provides GPS guidance for the route.

In addition, the Visorando app provides a "Get to the start" tool that enters the GPS coordinates of the starting point into a mobile navigation app to help you find the start easily.

Thank you for taking the time to share your impressions.

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Date of your route : Mar 17, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Very beautiful hike in good weather
The recommended starting point was difficult to find, so we did it backwards, which was probably better (even if the signage is inadequate!)

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Date of your route : Dec 18, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant short hike which, for us, we did in reverse, allowing us to discover the Rhune and the Three Crowns on the way up, and to keep the coastline in view on the way back.

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