Destination: Spain
LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL ITINERARY INFORMATION
Itinerary: The Basque Country, Navarra & La Rioja
TWO TO THREE WEEKS
This journey (approximately 550km) runs along the forbidding cliffs along the Bay of Biscay, through the rolling hills of the Basque interior and the sophisticated wine-tasting pleasures of La Rioja before climbing into the Navarran Pyrenees. With your own vehicle, you could accomplish all of this in 10 days but two to three weeks will enable a more leisurely pace.
The Basque Country is an increasingly popular destination for visitors to Spain, but it's still possible to get off the beaten track, particularly if you have your own vehicle.
Starting out in San Sebastian , well fed from the country's finest tapas, get away from the crowds by following the coast past quiet fishing villages, wonderful beaches and cliffs plunging down to the Bay of Biscay. Among the many picturesque villages well worth lingering in are Getaria, Mutriku and Lekeitio, but stunning Elantxobe is the pick of the bunch. From here, leave the coast behind and head into the rural Basque heartland, passing by Guernica for a moving lesson on Basque history, before seeking out engaging Onati and Arantzazu, where a striking santuario (shrine) highlights the prolific output of modern Basque artists. Leave behind the churches and head for the vineyards of La Rioja, where there couldn't be a more enchanting base than Laguardia, which surveys Spain's finest wine country from its hilltop perch. For the chance to enjoy your tipple with new-found friends, pause for at least a night in the rarely visited town of Logrono, with its great bars and friendly, feel-good ambience. From Logrono, continue east into Navarra, resting en route in the charming, quiet town of Olite, with its castle and state-of-the-art wine museum, adding a brief side trip to time-worn Ujue. This small village's hill-top location is merely a small foretaste of what's to come in the Navarran Pyrenees, starting with the precipitous Foz de Arbayun, then losing yourself in the bucolic splendour of the Valle del Salazar and stunning vistas of the Valle del Roncal, and the beautiful country roads that fan out from the lovely, cobblestone village of Ochagavia, which is the sort of place you'll want to spend as long as you can.
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