Today was a great walk and more like the quintessential Camino routes of the Norte or Frances. Beasain would be a great starting point for those that don't fancy the prior, more industrial stages. You wind through the streets of Beasain, before heading over a couple of adjacent foot bridges, the first over the railway and the second over the highway. Once across, the route climbs up, out of the valley and into the surrounding hills. The countryside from here is beautifully littered with old farm houses, bodegas, sweeping fields of cattle, distant forests and mountains, and quaint little villages. The first town we passed through was Oliberria. This was filled with stunning, detached houses that wouldn't look out of place in the hills of Hollywood. Although there is one bar here, we didn't stop as we felt it was too soon. From here the walk continued through the countryside and passed sporadic farm buildings, until around half way, when it veered off and down, away from the road, towards the next town of Idiazabal. Caution should be taken on this section as it is made mostly of ancient pathway, consisting of large rocks and boulders, some of which are loose under foot. Idiazabal is a larger town, with a few bars. We stopped for a rest at Taberna Pilarenea, as it looked nice and was close to the Camino. We then walked under the highway and up a steep incline the other side. There was a mirador, with benches, halfway up, so we decided to stop again, this time for lunch, and to enjoy the spectacular view. Following more country walking, our next stop was Segura, a gorgeous little town, filled with houses hundreds of years old, and I found myself in a real 'door of the day' dilemma! As it was now during the closing time, we didn't see any places to stop, until we saw that the bar at the Hotela Imaz was open for a quick coffee break. The route out of Segura winds down to the main road, where it meets an asphalt path that runs alongside it all the way to Zegama. This forms part of a nice, purpose-built path to enable the locals to get from town to town, up and down the river, without the need for driving. We've walked on sections of this path several times on this Camino and find it both great to walk and thoughtfully made. Zegama is a small town, with not very many facilities. There are two little shops (smaller versions of supermarkets), Two places to eat and drink, and what appears to be the only accommodation for the night. This is the Ostatu Zegama, which incorporates one of the two bars in the town. We were sure from the booking confirmation that check-in was between 2:30 and 9pm, but when we arrived, at around 4:50, we found it to be closed. Jess checked online and discovered that they actually close between 4:00 and 5:30pm, so we waited outside for around 40 minutes, until the very grumpy host arrived to open up. The room is ok. We don't mind that it's a bit on the small side as we're only here for one night, and it's better than a dormitory! The shower is nothing special, but works at least. And, as there is a bar/restaurant beneath us, there is some late-night noise, which we assume would be worse over a weekend, so early plugs will be firmly in place tonight!

Hiking/Backpacking

Autonomous Community of the Basque , Spain

time : Sep 11, 2025 10:47 AM

duration : 5h 54m 12s

distance : 17 km

total_ascent : 653 m

highest_point : 395 m

avg_speed : 4.0 km/h

user_id : fineartjones

user_firstname : Neil

user_lastname : Jones

Today was a great walk and more like the quintessential Camino routes of the Norte or Frances. Beasain would be a great starting point for those that don't fancy the prior, more industrial stages. You wind through the streets of Beasain, before heading over a couple of adjacent foot bridges, the first over the railway and the second over the highway. Once across, the route climbs up, out of the valley and into the surrounding hills. The countryside from here is beautifully littered with old farm houses, bodegas, sweeping fields of cattle, distant forests and mountains, and quaint little villages. The first town we passed through was Oliberria. This was filled with stunning, detached houses that wouldn't look out of place in the hills of Hollywood. Although there is one bar here, we didn't stop as we felt it was too soon. From here the walk continued through the countryside and passed sporadic farm buildings, until around half way, when it veered off and down, away from the road, towards the next town of Idiazabal. Caution should be taken on this section as it is made mostly of ancient pathway, consisting of large rocks and boulders, some of which are loose under foot. Idiazabal is a larger town, with a few bars. We stopped for a rest at Taberna Pilarenea, as it looked nice and was close to the Camino. We then walked under the highway and up a steep incline the other side. There was a mirador, with benches, halfway up, so we decided to stop again, this time for lunch, and to enjoy the spectacular view. Following more country walking, our next stop was Segura, a gorgeous little town, filled with houses hundreds of years old, and I found myself in a real 'door of the day' dilemma! As it was now during the closing time, we didn't see any places to stop, until we saw that the bar at the Hotela Imaz was open for a quick coffee break. The route out of Segura winds down to the main road, where it meets an asphalt path that runs alongside it all the way to Zegama. This forms part of a nice, purpose-built path to enable the locals to get from town to town, up and down the river, without the need for driving. We've walked on sections of this path several times on this Camino and find it both great to walk and thoughtfully made. Zegama is a small town, with not very many facilities. There are two little shops (smaller versions of supermarkets), Two places to eat and drink, and what appears to be the only accommodation for the night. This is the Ostatu Zegama, which incorporates one of the two bars in the town. We were sure from the booking confirmation that check-in was between 2:30 and 9pm, but when we arrived, at around 4:50, we found it to be closed. Jess checked online and discovered that they actually close between 4:00 and 5:30pm, so we waited outside for around 40 minutes, until the very grumpy host arrived to open up. The room is ok. We don't mind that it's a bit on the small side as we're only here for one night, and it's better than a dormitory! The shower is nothing special, but works at least. And, as there is a bar/restaurant beneath us, there is some late-night noise, which we assume would be worse over a weekend, so early plugs will be firmly in place tonight!