Orsanco: Holiday Apartments and Holiday Homes

The Haranbeltz and Soihartze route begins in the centre of Orsanco at the fronton. It is a 13.6 km circular hike with 385 metres of elevation gain and a stated duration of 5 hours, and follows a section of the Way of St James, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998. Along this route, you can visit the Chapelle Saint-Nicolas in Haranbeltz; it belonged to a priory whose existence is documented in a written record from 1059 and was restored several times over the centuries. The chapel is located where important pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela converge: the routes from Vézelay and Le Puy meet the route from Tours in Ostabat. Its portal, dating from the 12th or 14th century, is surmounted by a tympanum, and the interior furnishings date from the 17th and 18th centuries.

For a stay in Orsanco, you can rent a holiday apartment.

Culture and History

The parish church of Saint-Martin in Orsanco appears to date entirely from the 19th century. It has a bell tower above the portal and a raised flat apse above a partly underground sacristy.

The Chapelle de Soihartze can be visited on the route beginning in Orsanco; it was built in 1845 on the site of a former hermitage destroyed by fire and is dedicated to Mary. Guided tours of the Chapelle d'Haranbeltz are available exclusively by prior appointment.

Nature

Orsanco is one of the municipalities within the La Bidouze (cours d'eau) Natura 2000 site, which has a total area of 2,570 hectares. The route from Orsanco passes through calcareous grasslands and limestone heathlands in the foothills of the Pyrenees; wild orchids and the red-backed shrike can be observed along the route.

Geographical Location

In connection with the route, line 10 from St-Etienne-de-Baigorry, Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and Saint-Palais is mentioned.

Further destinations: Sallespisse, Orion, Saint-Étienne-De-Baïgorry, Aubertin, Buros, Viven, Soumoulou, Guethary

For the higher-level travel overview: Pyrenees-Atlantiques.