Picture courtesy of the City Council of Estella
INFORMATION
PROVINCE: Navarre
AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY: Chartered Community of Navarra
DISTANCE TO SANTIAGO: 669 km
TOURIST OFFICE
Plaza San Martín, 4
31200 Estella/Lizarra
Tel .: [+34] 848 420 485
Email: oit.estella@navarra.es
LINKS OF INTEREST
- Hostels
- Hotels & “hostales”
- Masses
- Transport
- Restaurants & bars
- Left luggage at the Bus Station
USEFUL NUMBERS
- Civil protection: [+34] 948 548 226
- Health Centre: [+34] 948 556 35
FESTIVALS & OTHER EVENTS:
- Plazara!: second Saturday of each month, local produce market from the region of Estella.
- Medieval Week and Old Fair: in July.
- Old Music Week: in September.
- Fair of San Andrés: between November and December.
The city of the river Ega, populated since time immemorial, experienced a spectacular urban development thanks to the Way of Saint James.
The original layout of three “burgos” (townships), plus their Jewish quarters, remind us of the same structure – “burgos” separated by walls, in Pamplona. Nowadays it is a lively tourist city, acting as link between Urbasa-Andia Natural Park and the Ribera de Tierra Estella.
SERVICES
MUST-SEES
- Church of Santo Sepulcro: it is the first monument welcoming pilgrims as they enter Estella, with a Gothic façade of great artistic quality, topped by a tympanum with scenes and niches with statues of the apostles, similar to that of Santa María in Olite.
- Church of San Pedro de la Rúa: the city’s major church. Romanesque doorway topped with lobes at the end of a monumental staircase, and whose cloister, dated around 1170, is one of the most beautiful elements of the building. Below is the crypt of the Marshals of Navarre.
- Church of San Miguel: northern gate and building in Romanesque style for whose completion three sculpture workshops were commissioned.
- Church of Santa María Jus del Castillo: Interpretation Center of Romanesque style occupying a former synagogue.
- Church of San Juan Bautista: of Romanesque origin, whose Renaissance altarpiece holds more than 50 sculptures.
- Manor house of the Eguía family: Renaissance-style palace, currently occupied by the local library.
- Old City Hall: Baroque building currently occupied by the Tourist Office and the Interpretation Center of Estella-Lizarra.
- Palace of the Kings of Navarra or of the Dukes of Granada del Ega: one of the few examples of civil Romanesque style in Navarre. Renowned capital stone depicting Roland and Ferragut on doorway. Today it holds the museum of the painter Gustavo de Maeztu.
- Gaol Bridge: replica of a medieval bridge demolished in the Carlist War.
- Museum of Carlism: building of Herrerian style. Former Governor's Palace, current museum of the history of Carlism.
- Basilica of El Puy: a modern Neogothic building designed by the Navarre-born architect Víctor Eúsa, home to a Gothic statue of the Virgin of El Puy, and a viewpoint with beautiful views of the city.
- Los Llanos Park: a site for pilgrims to rest on the grass, in the shade or sitting on benches next to the river Ega
Track Estella-Los Arcos
On foot | Medium - Low Difficulty |
By bike | Suitable |
PRM (pilgrims with reduced mobility) | Not suitable (up to Villamayor de Monjardin) |
Alternative |
Road NA-1110. No hard shoulder. Guardrails. |
NEARBY POINTS OF INTEREST
- Montejurra: sacred mountain for Carlists at the foot of the Monastery of Irache with impressive views of Tierra Estella.
- Monastery of Irache/Iratxe (Ayegui): monastery of Benedictine origin with fine cloisters and sculptures. Nearby we find the Wine Museum and the Wine Fountain, the latter an offering to pilgrims. LEGEND OF THE WAY: The first pilgrim hospital in Navarre was founded here. It has strong connections with the figure of Saint Veremund, abbot of the monastery. Legend has it that the abbot would smuggle food for the pilgrims who stopped at the hospital; when caught, the food hidden under his habit turned into flowers. The monastery was home to the 12th-century statue of the Virgin of Irache, kept nowadays at the church of Dicastillo.
- Arróniz: Baroque hermitage of Mendía, after which the cooperative mill producing the most popular olive oil in Navarre is named.
- Arellano: archaeological site of the Roman Villa of the Muses (between Arróniz and Allo)
- Villamayor de Monjardín/Deio: Romanesque church and ruins of the Castle of Deio, open to visitors.
- Sorlada: Baroque basilica of San Gregorio Ostiense.
- Mendaza: millenary holm oak, the second oldest tree in Spain.
- Urbasa-Andía Natural Park: Source of the Urederra and Ubagua rivers. Observation point of Ubaba.
- Monastery of Irantzu (Abárzuza): of Cistercian origin, with a beautiful Gothic cloister, 11 km from Estella.
LEGENDS OF THE WAY:
- San Veremundo (Villatuerta): Villatuerta is marked by Saint Veremund, born in the 11th century; a popular saint for his miracles, being one of the great figures of the Camino. He was appointed by the Church as protector saint of walkers and patron saint of the Camino in Navarre. It is said that he would snatch food for the pilgrims coming to the convent. Then, one day he was surprised by the abbot hiding food under his habit, but Veremundo claimed that he was carrying flowers, at which point dozens of roses fell from under his clothes. He is also considered one of the driving forces behind the construction and structuring of the Camino.
- The Wine Fountain (Ayegui): also known as Irache Wine Fountain, this is the only fountain in the world from which water and wine spring. It evokes medieval times, when monks used to give wine to pilgrims arriving in their monasteries.