The Inland Basque Way begins in Irún and runs through the provinces of Guipúzcoa, Álava and La Rioja. In Santo Domingo de la Calzada it joins with the French Way towards Santiago de Compostela. In the first kilometres it shares the track with the Way of Bayonne and then as they enter the town of Estavillo, in the province of Álava, they diverge again.
One of the highlights of this route is the tunnel of San Adrián, a natural passageway that crosses the Aizkorri mountain range, which was used by pilgrims, kings and their armies in the 11th and 12th centuries, and even before that by ancient Roman legions. After crossing the Aizkorri mountain range, the major changes in the landscape, the vegetation and the architecture compared with the first part of the route are striking.
START POINT: IRUN
END POINT 1: SANTO DOMINGO DE LA CALZADA
DISTANCE: 199 KM
END POINT 2: BURGOS
DISTANCE: 252,10 KM
History
This route is an alternative to the Northern Way across Basque lands. Like many other Jacobean routes, this way follows the same track as an ancient Roman causeway. It also passes through beautiful places such as the tunnel of San Adrián, used by Emperor Charles V himself on his way from Flanders to Madrid, when he was proclaimed King of Spain.
NOTes for pilgrims
The entire Way is properly signposted with yellow arrows, although their number sometimes changes depending on the section.
Hostels are well distributed along the route and they have enough capacity too, considering that it is not a very busy route.
In several sections, the route overlaps cycle lanes (called “bidegorri” i.e. “red road” in Basque), which run separately traffic and are well fitted for cyclists and pedestrians.