Discover Metauten: Truffles, Culture and Holiday Apartments

Metauten reveals its distinctive character through the black truffle. The Eco-Museum of the Truffle is Metauten’s interpretation centre. The Museo de la Trufa is the only interpretation centre in Spain dedicated to this special product. In Metauten, education, tradition and specific truffle-related topics therefore come closely together.

Truffles and Regional Tradition

At the Museo de la Trufa, children can discover the world of black truffles at an interactive station. The Trufa Experiencia begins with a guided tour of the Museo de la Trufa de Metauten, includes truffle hunting with truffle dogs and ends with a tasting of products containing truffles. The sequence combines education, searching and tasting in a clearly structured experience.

For several years, Metauten has hosted a gastronomic festival to promote the truffle. Metauten is also a land of charcoal burners and truffle gatherers. Thus, not only the special product but also the activities and customs associated with it form part of the local character.

Routes and Landscape

The Vía Verde del Ferrocarril Vasco Navarro is mostly flat and accessible to hikers, cyclists and people with reduced mobility. It runs through the valleys of Allín, Metauten, Valdega and La Berrueza. Along the Vía Verde del Ferrocarril Vasco Navarro, visitors can explore restored tunnels, viaducts and railway stations. The route’s layout, the valley landscapes and the historic relics each provide different points of focus when planning an outing.

The Metauten Valley has diverse vegetation, including holm oaks, Portuguese oaks, oaks, abundant boxwood and juniper.

The Vía Verde passes through several valleys, while the vegetation description focuses specifically on the Metauten Valley itself. These landscape aspects can therefore be considered separately when planning: the route combines historic relics and activity, while the vegetation identifies the plant species found there.

The activities described have different focal points: culinary exploration centred on the black truffle, exercise on a mostly flat route, insights into architectural history and the valley’s vegetation. Those who wish to combine different interests can consider these focal points separately when putting together their own outings, rather than treating them as a single experience. This keeps culture, landscape and regional tradition readable as distinct facets of Metauten.

Culture and History

The Church of San Román in Metauten is an architectural monument in the Gothic-Renaissance style. The Hermitage of Santa Bárbara stands on the hill opposite Metauten. Every year at the beginning of September, the residents of Metauten make a pilgrimage to the Hermitage of Santa Bárbara. The hermitage was formerly dedicated to the Catalan saint San Cucufat.

Metauten’s attractions include its manor houses with coats of arms. Another attraction is a Palacio Cabo de Armería. The caseríos of Metauten still preserve coats of arms from the 16th and 17th centuries.

The municipality of Metauten also includes Ollobarren.

Other destinations: Enériz, Los Arcos, Roncal, Gorraiz, Barañáin, Villanueva De Aezkoa, Arano

For the higher-level travel overview: Navarra.