Why this ride
From Zarautz it runs 412 km to Zarautz; allow about 6 h 21 of riding. It goes by way of Chemin de la Côte, Ekain, Santimamiñe and Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Altxerri and Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 412 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 21
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Basque Coast Route
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 36 km this is Basque Coast Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 36 km
- Named road
- Basque Coast Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Altxerri
The Basque coast between Orio and Getaria is a place where steep green hills fall straight into the Bay of Biscay, and Altxerri is a cave in those hills, a few kilometres from Zarautz, one of the great surf and holiday towns of the province. Zarautz has a long beach, a seafront promenade and over twenty thousand people, which means fuel, lunch and everything else you might need.
Read the complete Altxerri write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Altxerri is where the day begins. Next is Chemin de la Côte.
2. Chemin de la Côte
Irun is where the coastal Way of St James, the Camino del Norte, crosses from France into Spain, and pilgrims have been walking over the Bidasoa here for centuries. The river is the border, and in the middle of it sits the Isle of Pheasants, a scrap of land that has been governed jointly by both countries since the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, changing hands every six months. It is a peculiar, rather charming thing to stand on the bank and look at.
Read the complete Chemin de la Côte write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Chemin de la Côte comes up about 36 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ekain.
3. Ekain
In 1969 two young men exploring a hillside above the Sastarrain valley near Zestoa crawled into a narrow opening and found themselves in a gallery of painted horses. Ekain is one of the finest Palaeolithic painted caves in Europe, its walls covered with images of horses, bison and other animals made some fourteen thousand years ago with remarkable skill. The horses in particular are famous, drawn with shaggy manes and round bellies, so lively that they seem about to move.
Read the complete Ekain write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 89 km into the recorded legs you reach Ekain. Next is Santimamiñe.
4. Santimamiñe
In 1916, a group of boys exploring a hillside in the Basque Country found paintings deep inside a cave, and Santimamiñe became one of the most important prehistoric sites in the region. The cave, near Kortezubi in the Urdaibai valley, contains Magdalenian paintings of bison, horses, goats and deer, made around fourteen thousand years ago, and it is part of the UNESCO listing of cave art of northern Spain. To protect the paintings, the cave itself is closed to the public, but a visitor centre offers a virtual tour that recreates the interior in detail, with guides explaining the art and the people who made it.
Read the complete Santimamiñe write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Santimamiñe, about halfway. Next is Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre.
5. Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre
Down in the Casco Viejo of Bilbao, where the old streets run in a tight grid beside the Nervión, the cathedral of Santiago stands at the heart of the Siete Calles, the seven original streets of the medieval town. It is a Gothic church, rebuilt after a fire in the sixteenth century, with a neo-Gothic façade and spire added later, and it sits so snugly among the tall houses that you often see it only when you are standing right in front of it.
Read the complete Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre sits at 172 km, about halfway. Next is back through Santimamiñe.
6. back through Santimamiñe
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Santimamiñe write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Santimamiñe comes up about 245 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Ekain.
7. back through Ekain
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ekain write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 320 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Ekain. Next is back through Chemin de la Côte.
8. back through Chemin de la Côte
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Chemin de la Côte write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Chemin de la Côte, late in the day. Next is Altxerri.
9. Altxerri
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Altxerri write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 412 km.
Leg by leg
Altxerri to Chemin de la Côte
Altxerri → Chemin de la Côte is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Chemin de la Côte to Ekain
Chemin de la Côte → Ekain is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ekain to Santimamiñe
Ekain → Santimamiñe is 77 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Santimamiñe to Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre
Santimamiñe → Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre to back through Santimamiñe
Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre → back through Santimamiñe is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Santimamiñe to back through Ekain
back through Santimamiñe → back through Ekain is 75 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ekain to back through Chemin de la Côte
back through Ekain → back through Chemin de la Côte is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Chemin de la Côte to Altxerri
back through Chemin de la Côte → Altxerri is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.