Discover Lantz: Culture, Karst and Trails

Lantz is home to a surprising Paleo-Hispanic inscription dating back around 2,000 years. It was found in the Aierdi VIII mine, which belongs to the Lantz mining complex. It is considered the northernmost find of its kind in Navarre and the only one of its kind found inside a mine on the Iberian Peninsula.

Culture and History

Access to the Aierdi VIII mine is strictly restricted to uses related to research activities. The townscape of Lantz features large houses from the 17th and 18th centuries, some of which bear coats of arms. By contrast, Lantz’s present-day parish church of Santa Cruz is a modern building. The urban structure of Lantz reflects a clear settlement typology from Roman times.

A Roman road has been preserved on the route between Belate and Lantz; the arrangement of its stones to improve the passage of people and carts is clearly visible. Ayerdi IV belongs to a group of ten karst caves in the Txorrostarrikoerreka gorge on the slopes of Ayerdi and Otaño, whose galleries were artificially worked for mining in Roman times. The Lantz dolmen is part of the Saioa-Loiketa dolmen station. In the mountains around Lantz, lime kilns were built as pits lined with earth and stone, where limestone was fired, then crushed and used as a building material.

Landscape and Trails

The Baztanés Way of St. James passes through Lantz on the route from Bayonne via Belate to Pamplona; this pilgrimage route is one of the routes leading from France to Santiago. Two other main tracks in Lantz lead to nature trails through beech, chestnut and oak forests in the municipality’s mountains. North of Lantz, a mountain hike leads via Errebelu and Okolin onwards to Saioa. A circular walk or hike in Lantz takes around two and a half to three hours and is considered not particularly difficult.

The Lantz karst system features remarkable aragonite sinter formations, which in places may show a bluish coloration associated with copper deposits. One cave has a passage approximately 425 metres long on two levels: the upper level forms a large cavity, while the lower level leads to an underground lake. The cave was closed by the Government of Navarre because stalactites, stalagmites and aragonite were looted there in the 1980s.

Traditions

The Lantz Carnival takes place on the Sunday, Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday; Tuesday is the main day. The carnival is recognised as intangible cultural heritage of cultural interest (Bien de Interés Cultural). On Tuesday evening, the people of Lantz stage the execution and burning of Miel Otxin at the stake; on the previous day, the depiction of his capture forms part of the carnival.

More local pages are available for Uterga, Tajonar, Etxarri-Aranatz, Luzaide / Valcarlos, Barañáin, Galbarra, Meoz and Miranda De Arga.

For the overarching travel overview: Navarre.