Duranguesado Route: Areatza & Otzarreta beech forest, Elorrio & Argiñeta necropolis, Urkiola pass, Atxondo valley

Nestled in the Arratia valley, this town founded in 1338 was an important stop on the trade route between Vitoria and the Cantabrian coast. It keeps the charm of its old stone houses and we enjoy a quiet stroll through its streets.

We drive up to the Barazar pass to admire Gorbeia (1,481 m), the highest peak in the province, and walk among the pollarded trees of the Otzarreta beech forest — one of the most photographed woods in Spain.

Elorrio, founded in 1356, grew rich through trade with the New World between the 16th and 18th centuries. That wealth was poured into manor houses and palaces that still display their coats of arms — more than 20 palaces and wayside crosses.

We stroll its historic streets and taste the famous “mostachones” biscuits made by the nuns of Santa Ana. Before leaving we visit the Argiñeta necropolis, with steles and sarcophagi from the 7th to 9th centuries — the most important of its kind in the Basque Country.

From Otxandio we climb to the Urkiola pass (750 m), at the heart of a vast Natural Park. We visit the curious Sanctuary of the Saints Anthony, surrounded by beech, ash and birch, at the geographical centre of Bizkaia, Araba and Gipuzkoa.

In front of the sanctuary lies a large round stone that young women circle hoping to find a sweetheart. Nearby, after a stations-of-the-cross path through oak woods, opens one of the finest viewpoints in Bizkaia: the Amboto ridge, Untzillaitz, Aramotz, Oiz… simply mesmerising.

Between Apatamonasterio and Arrazola lies a valley where time seems to have stopped. Beneath the mighty Amboto ridge stand some of the oldest and most beautiful Basque farmhouses, with cattle grazing in green meadows.

We walk part of the old mining railway, in use until 1920 and now a lovely greenway. One of the farmhouses bears a simple truth: “you can hear the silence”.