The Baztan is a beautiful green valley, which is still almost untouched by human presence. Due to the absence of overcrowding and the respect of the Baztan population to its historical heritage, today we can still visit a large number of megalithic monuments, such as dolmens, menhirs, cromlechs or tumuli, which date back to before the Iron Age.

Taking advantage of this rich historical heritage, the Ethnographical Museum Jorge Oteiza in Elizondo, in its activity programme, is going to offer the possibility of going on two guided tours to visit the prehistoric dolmens and cromlech which are found on the Gorramendi Mountain and between Beartzun (a hamlet which is part of Elizondo) and Erratzu, in the heart of the Baztan Valley.

The megalithic research in the Baztan Valley was started by José Miguel Barandiaran in the 1930s and later continued by Tomás Masito López, Patxi Ondarra, etc. This work has been culminated recently by the Lekaroz secondary school teacher Josu Cabodevilla, who, together with his wife Itziar Zabalza, have catalogued a total of 471 megalithic monuments within the valley, recording their location, characteristics and level of conservation. It is undoubtedly the largest and most important group of its kind in the Basque Country and one of the most outstanding in Europe, revealing the existence of some very important settlements in the Baztan area prior to the Iron Age.

Discover our getaways to the Baztan Valley

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