Location
Ariz, a small village in the Pamplona basin, 14 km from the capital. Nature, trails and heritage right at hand.
Ariz, between two mountains
TTipiaenea is in Ariz, a small village sheltered by Bizkai mendia and Zabalgaina, north of Pamplona. On the road to Sakana, beside the Oskia pass and the river Arakil. Ten houses, a lot of quiet.
What to see in Navarre
Twelve places in Navarre you can’t miss
Routes from your doorstep
Walk or cycle out to the GR-220 trail that loops around the Pamplona basin. Hiking, MTB and local routes for every level.
Alto de la Cruz · Gurutzeko tontorra
A walk that starts right at TTipiaenea’s front door and climbs to the Alto de la Cruz —Gurutzeko tontorra in Basque—, where an old wooden cross stands on the hilltop. It’s 2.7 km there and back with about 170 m of ascent: a gentle, steady climb, almost entirely in the shade of the holm oak wood — mostly holm oaks, though there are some other oaks too. It’s an ideal route to do with children, and a favourite climb for mountain bikers. Near the top you pass some beautiful holm oaks that cast a wonderfully cool shade — a good place to stop. And at the summit the whole Pamplona basin opens up: the cereal fields, the villages and, in the distance, the mountain ranges.
How to get there: when you reach the Lekoate crossroads — a junction where a gravestone recalls a sad episode from the Spanish post-war years — take the left-hand track, the road to Olza. (Up to the right climbs to Zabalgaina; down to the right goes to the village of Lete, and down to the left to the Olza cemetery.) About 150 metres further on, leave the wide track and take the narrow path on the right: it’s easy to walk straight past it. From there you can’t go wrong all the way to the cross.
Tips: bring water — there is no spring anywhere along the route. There may be sheep grazing loose, so keep dogs on a lead. In summer, go early morning or at dusk. Not suitable for a pushchair, but fine with a baby carrier.
Olza dovecotes
A walk that sets off on foot from TTipiaenea’s door to the Olza dovecotes, through a wood of holm oaks and other oaks. An easy there-and-back route with barely any climb, good at any time of year and perfect with the family.
San Bartolomé hermitage
A short walk from TTipiaenea’s door to the hermitage of San Bartolomé, in the countryside around Ariz, in the heart of the Pamplona basin. An easy stroll between fields and country lanes, ideal for a quiet morning or an evening at sunset. The hermitage is dedicated to Saint Bartholomew, whose feast day is 24 August. One of those small gems of central Navarre that you only find on foot, without hurrying.
Ver en el mapa →Garaño Castle
High in the Ollo valley, on a hill at 591 m, stands Garaño Castle: the oldest in the Pamplona basin, already documented in the 9th century. It was a royal residence in the time of Sancho Garcés I and a seat of noble power, until 1512, during the conquest of Navarre, when Ferdinand the Catholic ordered it torn down. After five centuries of neglect, since 2010 a group of archaeologists and volunteers has been raising it again stone by stone, by hand: its keep and the circular wall around it can be seen once more. From the top, an untouched medieval landscape — the castles of Orarregi and Aixita, the Oskia gorge — that seems frozen in time.
Bike-friendly lodging
Four e-bikes charged in the workshop, locks, helmets and GPX routes we’ve been polishing for years. Out the door and onto the GR-220.