The Sierra de Aralar (Aralar's range) it's a natural zone of great interest situated between the provinces of Gipuzkoa and Navarre in the north of Spain. Its mountains of lime stones do that be considered as one of the last elevations of the Cordillera Cantábrica (Cantabrian mountain Range), although the limit is difficult to establish (it exists diverse opinions about it).
Its mountains of modest elevations between 1000m and 1400m acquire a wild aspect in some of its faces as the proud North face of the Malloas or the beautiful ridge NW of the Txindoki, but it's in its great forest mass and in its large green plains where resides the heart of the range. Although only the part of Gipuzkoa is a nature reserve from 1994, the part of Navarre had also rules about the natural protection from 2000, but the full range is very humanized with refuges, huts of shepherds, hermitages, forest tracks,... the presence of megalithic stones shows us that was inhabited since more than 4000 years and it's source of many histories and legends. Crossroads of cultures and ways Aralar has been travelled for merchants, flocks, wandering in direction to sanctuary… but nevertheless continues having a lot to discover for the lovers of the nature in its simple summits. Its extension is a long irregular plateau of 20 km x 12 km with a surface of 350 km2.

Getting There and Trailheads

San Miguel

Lizarrusti

The sierra de Aralar is in a very well communicated zone near of the highway Pamplona-San Sebastian and Vitoria-Pamplona. It had only one road into the range, the road from the village of Lekumberri to the Santuario de San Miguel in Excelsis and a track from Huarte-Arakil to the Santuario.

Guardetxe

Amezketa

For approach to Aralar take direction to Pamplona, the most important city neary to Aralar. From Pamplona take the highway A-15 to Alsasua, take direction Donosti/San Sebastian to the village of Lekumberri (inverse if you come from Donosti or Vitoria to Lekumberri before Pamplona). For approach to the trailheads you can to see this list:

Larraitz

Lekumberri

Trailheads (SouthEast):
-Huarte-Arakil: village. A-15 Pamplona-Irurzun, N-240A (direction Vitoria) to Huarte-Arakil, Trailhead to Artxueta or Madalenaitz.
-Albia: at 12 km of the road from Lekumberri to Sanctuary of San Miguel. Trailhead to Txamiñe, Beloki, Pardarri or Ttutturre.
-Guardetxe/Casa Forestal de Aralar: at 13 km of the road from Lekumberri to Sanctuary of San Miguel. Trailhead to Eulatz, Ganboa, Pardarri, Aldaon or Irumugarrieta
-Baraibar: village, in the road from Lekumberri to Santuario. Trailhead to Beloki, Ttutturre or Pallardi.
-Madotz: village. In Irurzun take the little road to Odériz-Astiz-Madotz. Trailhead to Akier.
Trailheads (SoutWest)
-Puerto de Lizarrusti: in the road between Etxarri-Aranatz and Ataun. To Etxarri follow from Huarte-Arakil for 8km. Trailhead to Putxerri.
Trailheads (NorthWest)
-Azkarate, Gainza: villages. In Irurzun take direction San Sebastian. In Puerto de Azpiroz take the N-130 to Araitz and the other villages. Trailhead to Balerdi or Artubi.
-Amezketa, Larraitz: village. See the page of Txindoki. Trailhead to Txindoki, Ganboa or Ausa Gaztelu.

Map

Roads=blue, Trailheads and Cols=red, Paths=red, Peaks=black

The mountains

Irumugarrieta

The list of main summits is short, less of 30 peaks, but many hills and little summits have name in Aralar according generally with the location of dolmens, hillocks, tracks,... it's important for the orientation of the routes but not for its climb. The highest peak is Irumugarrieta on the central of the great North ridge, an spectacular wall from SE to NW called Las Malloas, with more than 800 meters over the valley and it is one of the best-known images of Aralar especially when the snow covers its walls giving an improper totally alpine aspect of some mountains of heights as modest as those of Aralar. The most beautiful mountain is Txindoki, called the Gipuzkoa’s Matterhorn, but another options to know Aralar are the peaks Balerdi, Gamboa, Aldaon, Artxueta or Ttutturre. The proximity of the summits makes possible the design of routes across some peaks in the same day, but always knowing our forces and without disdaining the distances since although the slope is not high, the approach is long.

List of the main summits and other little summits with name in Aralar from West to East:

Mountain	Height (m)	Mountain	Height (m)	Mountain	Height (m)
Leizadi	946	Ontzanburu	1282	Atallorbe	1275
Agaotz	974	Labeongo	1293	Eulatz	1281
Sarastarri	996	Artubi	1263	Ipuzmeaka	1216
Malkorburu	862	Uakorri	1306	Txameni / Txamiñe	1299
Ausa Gaztelu	904	Elizkaitz	1215	Txorrotxeta	1273
Akaitz Txiki	937	Beoin	1350	Pallardi	1290
Alleko	1018	Egurtegi	1320	Aitziar	1286
Txindoki/Larrunarri	1346	Egurbide	1317	Beloki	1271
Gañeta	1315	Urkute	1328	Ttutturre	1282
Malkorri	1330	Balerdi/Mallozarra	1195	Debata	1139
Arrubigaña	1318	Aldaon	1411	Alborta	1228
Uarrain	1346	Kobagaine	1324	Uarrain	1221
Larraone	1198	Arbelo	1332	Subizelagane	1209
Artubi	1320	Beaskin	1240	Arriolatz	1176
Ganbo Txiki	1377	Pagota	1271	Gaztelu	1085
Uzkuiti	1322	Errenaga	1282	Txurtxur	1069
Ganboa	1412	Errenaga Txiki	1277	Artxueta	1343
Akaitz	1072	Kargaleku	1250	Putregain/San Miguel	1237
Maldako Punta	1015	Aparein	1261	Madalenaitz	860
Pardarri	1393	Desaomendi	1305	Elorrigane	1063
Puttarri / Putxerri	1299	Irumugarrieta/Intzeko Torrea	1431	Soroaundi	1045
Hirupagoeta	1235	Beldarri	1405	Akier	1124
Uazkuru	1249	Desamendi Txiki	1261	Urbaran	748
Zabalegi	1114	Kurutzeaga	1308	Larrazpil	1066
Olamuño	1256	Mendiaundi	1307	Iruaundi	1064

Akier

Alborta

Aldaon

Alleko

Aparein

Arbelo

Artubi

Artxueta

Ausa Gaztelu

Balerdi

Beaskin

Beloki

Beoin

Desaomendi

Errenaga

Eurlatz

Ganboa

Ganbo Txiki

Iruaundi

Irumugarrieta

Kargaleku

Kurutzeaga

Larraone

Larrazpil

Madalen

Olamuño

Ontzanburu

Pallardi

Pardarri

Putxerri

Sarastarri

Ttutturre

Txameni

Uakorri

Uarrain

Uzkuiti

Red Tape-When to climb

Forest & snow

North view

Natural Park. No permits.
The climb it's possible all the year but in winter because the cold it's possible the presence of hard snow in the access to some tracks, cols, summits,... many days the winter material it's necessary.

Many of routes and itineraries of Aralar are easy to follow in tracks and paths but the great forest mass tries to recover its space and invades paths less frequented that does also that in days of fog or when the snow covers the paths it become in a dangerous labyrinth. Itself not the proximity of the civilization should be disdained since the beech wood are leafy and the orientation is not always easy. Although generally there’s mark of painting in the paths your will not find signs of identification of the paths and hillocks for which a map is very recommendable to study the route. In spite of all is frequent that the people that does not know well the zone, or even the ones that know it, they be lost in Aralar in some occasion. Generally with a little patience is finished finding a path that carries us to some part, although perhaps did not where we want.

Megalithic Stones

Trikuharri

In the Neolithic the shepherds took advantage of the pastures of Aralar and built the still visible megalithic barrows that are coded at present in around of one hundred although in general they are of small size. The dolmens were collective burials buried in places of special religious meaning. It dominate the dolmens as those of Igaratza, Trikuharri or Atakaxar. The monoliths (menhirs) are all they fallen in ground and they remain some in Igaratza, Saltarri or Erroldan Harria (according with the legend the warrior Roldan launched this stone from the top of Aralar and fell in the plain of Ata).
I think it's a good idea to search some dolmens in your way to the peaks.

The forest

Beechwood (hayedo) it's the king of Aralar. Mountainous landscape woodland and regular, of strong seasonal contrasts, that contemplated since the interior its silence transmits us. It had as well in the wooded surface some species of pines and larch (alerces). In the nature preserve of Putterri (1296 meters) abound the quoits (tejos), well visible in winter thanks to the contrast of black and white.

The legends

Sanctuary

Many legendary history exists about Aralar. Maybe the most famous it's the legend of Teodosio de Goñi. He was a knight of VIII century what he was deceived by the devil and thinking that his wife was an infidel murdered by mistake his parents. After journeying to Rome to ask the pardon of the Pope, he was chained like penitence and he walked for 7 years across the ranges of Aralar and Andia tied to the chains until a day he arrived at the cave of a dragon. When the dragon attacked him, he was entrusted to angel San Miguel and he descended of the sky, he killed to dragon and he cuted its chains. Since then Teodosio erected a sanctuary to San Miguel in that place, the Santuario de San Miguel in Excelsis, the most visited place of range of Aralar.

Camping

Camping it's not allowed in Sierra de Aralar but really it's not neccesary because the villages are very near. All the main routes and peaks they can to walk in one day.

External Links

Map(ed Sua) map 1:25.000 and guide book.
nekanet page about natural park of Aralar with maps (text in spanish)
Sanctuary of San Miguel page in spanish about the Santuario de San Miguel in Excelsis with history, legends, tourist information or section of Sierra de Aralar.
Images
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