Burgui: Foz de Burgui, Culture and Trails

Anyone looking for a holiday apartment in Burgui can focus on different aspects when planning their stay: nature, signposted trails, regional history and annual events.

Other places: Oskotz, Rada, Ibero, Burlada, Ollo, Leitza, Barásoain, Asiáin

Nature and Trails

Foz de Burgui is a limestone gorge designated as a nature reserve. It is home to one of the largest vulture colonies in Europe. The Foz de Burgui hiking trail connects Burgui’s medieval bridge with a birdwatching viewpoint along the Esca River. The linear route is 1.16 km long and has a low level of difficulty.

A signposted 4 km climb from Burgui leads to the Virgen de la Peña at an altitude of 1,294 m. The trail initially runs for 3 km through the forest before opening up in the final section to views across the Pyrenees. The GR 15.2 variant is an officially recognised circular route through Burgui, Larra and Sasi. Mountain-bike route 14 runs from Burgui for 13 km, with 550 m of positive elevation gain, to its highest point at Las Coronas.

The annual Cross del Almadía offers 10 km and 5 km routes in Burgui, which can also be completed on foot. The information on the circular route, linear trail, climb, mountain-bike route and running routes allows for comparison by length and type of activity.

Culture and History

Burgui Town Hall houses the Museo de la Almadía. The museum is a permanent exhibition dedicated to the timber raftsmen of the Roncal, Salazar and Aézkoa valleys. It shows the timber-processing and transport process: from auctioning or selling trees in lots, through preparing them as round, squared-off logs and transporting them along the rivers, to selling them in Navarre, Aragón or Catalonia.

The Pueblo de los Oficios features an interpretive tour of the traditional ways of life and work in mountain villages and Pyrenean valleys. It explains how a charcoal burner’s hut, known as a carbonera, was built and how charcoal was produced, and includes an old bread oven. Burgui’s Nivera is an underground, cylindrical stone structure with a covering that protects the snow from the effects of the outside weather.

The 16th-century Church of San Pedro in Burgui houses the old organ from Leyre Monastery. Burgui’s Roman bridge retains its four original arches, its old raised roadway and its river piers, designed to break the current of the Esca River. The Virgen del Castillo hermitage stands on the site of Burgui’s former medieval fortress.

Traditions and the Esca River

Día de la Almadía is a festival of national tourist interest, celebrated in Burgui with the launching of three traditional rafts on the Esca River. The weir on the Esca River becomes a natural bathing area in summer. The bathing area on the Esca River in Burgui can be reached on foot from the car park on the NA-137 via the Roman bridge. Burgui’s El Obispo tradition is celebrated every year on 6 December in honour of Saint Nicholas.

Getting There and Practical Information

One route to Burgui follows the N-240 to Lumbier, then the NA-178 via the Puerto de las Coronas to Navascués, and from there the NA-214 to Burgui. The Zabalea motorhome area offers 50 pitches, toilets, showers, a fountain, picnic areas, electricity connections and a facility for disposing of wastewater.

To the main travel overview: Navarre.