Discover Tirapu – History, Routes and Cuisine

The municipality of Tirapu is home to an archaeological site dating from the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. Cultural history, nature, routes and traditional cuisine each offer a different focus here. When planning your trip, you can consider these topics separately and assign them different weight according to your own interests. The villagescape, route layouts and culinary traditions can thus be viewed as distinct perspectives.

When comparing a holiday apartment in Tirapu, you can review travel dates, room category and cancellation conditions side by side on the accommodation pages. When planning your trip, you can set culture, cuisine, landscape and route layouts alongside one another as different focal points; the weighting is up to you.

Culture and History

As you enter the centre of Tirapu, the town hall and the Iglesia de la Concepción de María, the Church of the Immaculate Conception, are on the left. It is a Renaissance church built between 1591 and 1609 over an older Romanesque church.

The Diocesan Museum of Pamplona houses the 13th-century Romanesque figure of the Virgin of the Tabernacle and the 16th-century Gothic processional cross. The church’s main altarpiece, dated 1638, was created by Pablo González and Juan de Bengoechea; both were pupils of Juan de Anchieta.

Tirapu has been documented since 1002 in the Karta de Mutiloa, which mentions the sale of land at “Triapu” to Leire Monastery. The place name appears repeatedly in 12th- and 13th-century documents and is associated with the Order of the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem and Irache Monastery. In the north of the municipality lie the salt pans, or Saleras, which are considered a possible origin of Tirapu and were in operation for more than nine centuries.

Traditions and Cuisine

At festivals, people in Tirapu traditionally ate Rellen; every house in the village had an earthenware soup bowl containing Rellen and Fritada. Buñuelos were prepared for Saint Joseph’s Day, while Torrijas were served during Holy Week.

In Tirapu, pork loin was preserved in earthenware vessels filled with oil, and people prepared, among other things, Bizcochadas, flans and apple pies. In the past, people drank wine and homemade Pacharán; some added coffee beans when preparing it. During earlier home slaughters, part of the produce was distributed among the households and also given to the parish priest and the teacher.

Landscape and Routes

The natural surroundings of Tirapu are characterised by oak forests, springs and paths. The centre of Tirapu lies on a hill at the transition between the more strongly undulating terrain, with elevations of up to 695 metres, and the surrounding area characterised by cereal and wine growing.

The route “From Muruarte de Reta towards Valdizarbe” leads from Muruarte de Reta via Olcoz to Tirapu, includes a section of the Aragonese Way of Saint James and continues to the Ermita de San Nicolás de Bari.

On the way to Tirapu, the route follows a paved road; on the left, you can see the cemetery and the Ermita de San Nicolás de Bari.

Other places: Falces, Eraul, Arano, Andosilla, Elgorriaga, Iruñela, Ayegui, Arrarats

For the overarching travel overview: Navarre.