Ardaitz – River Landscape, Trails and Historic Architecture

Ardaitz lies on a rise above the left bank of the Erro River, at the transition between the plain and the hills. The steep slopes of the Sierra de Labia protect the village. The local NA 2331 road leads to Ardaitz from kilometre point 14.83 of the NA-2330.

Landscape and Trails

The landscape features include the pasturelands of Ardaitz, Aintzioa and Measkoitz. Compared with the other pasturelands in the area, they are smaller and drier. Sub-Mediterranean downy oak forests with downy oak, light-loving scrubland and Scots pine characterise the vegetation there.

A traditional access path leads from Ardaitz to Ogal and its traditional shepherds’ huts. A local hiking trail leads to Aintzioa; a marked branch leads to the summit of Larrogain and passes the Argibel Dolmen. The different destinations and trail routes can be considered separately when planning the day.

Other destinations in the regional overview

The wider regional overview includes Azuelo, Legarda, Luzaide / Valcarlos, Armañanzas, Bera, Atondo, Adiós and Lumbier.

Architecture and History

A church in Ardaitz is documented as early as 1217. The Church of the Apostle Peter is designed in the Early Gothic or Proto-Gothic style and has a Romanesque tower and a Gothic portal. Inside is a 14th-century baptismal font depicting a female figure who probably represents the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child. The Church of San Pedro has a Baroque high altar with several Baroque round sculptures as well.

The Gothic fountain of Ardaitz lies near the village centre. Its pointed-arch barrel vault, built of dressed stone, protects the water source. The village centre preserves dressed-stone buildings, towers and architectural elements from the 16th century. The dressed-stone houses in Ardaitz bear inscriptions from the 17th and 19th centuries. The village also has a medieval tower with a three-arched window.

The Ardaitz dolmen area includes the Ardaitz I, Ardaitz II and Ezkiregi dolmens. At Zarkumena House there is a relief of a Greek cross decorated with six-petalled roses and two additional crosses, bearing the inscription “Ano 1608”. At Zuriona House, the inscription “1844” appears on the central voussoir of the portico. Casa del Cura is marked on the central voussoir of the arched doorway by a Calvary motif.

On the central voussoir of the arched doorway of Patia House is a coat of arms with three bars and two stars, one above the first bar and the other above the third. Txantxumena House has bricked-up Moorish-style windows and a later-sealed two-lobed opening.

Individual structures outside the village centre also add historic accents. Txintxurrumea is the surviving masonry of a medieval stone river outpost on the Erro River along the path to Errea. Borda Zuriona has a rectangular floor plan, a lower room intended for livestock, an upper hayloft and a divided roof covered with Arabic roof tiles.

To the broader travel overview: Navarra.