Biodiversity Center of Euskadi – Torre Madariaga.

Get to know the Madariaga Tower, home of the Biodiversity Center of Euskadi, a building full of life.

Managed by Ihobe, the Public Society for Environmental Management of the Department of Environment and Territorial Policy of the Basque Government, the Biodiversity Center of the Basque Country is located in the Madariaga Tower, Busturia, Urdaibai, an area declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1984, an unbeatable location to learn about the life of the planet.

Entrance Biodiversity Center of Euskadi

The Biodiversity Center of Euskadi invites us to learn about the life of our territory through a permanent exhibition divided into different rooms where panels, videos, sounds, photographs and animals help us to understand the complexity of the natural circle of which we are a part.

Madariaga tower room cubes

A self-guided tour with which to enjoy the permanent exhibition, temporary exhibition and finish with a visit to the viewpoint of the Madariaga Tower, a glass window located at the top of the tower that allows us to see the marshes of Urdaibai in great detail.

History of the Madariaga Tower: There is no record of the exact year of construction of the Madariaga Tower, but it is known that it dates back to before the 15th century. Strategically built on the highest point of the place, it controlled the juradera route (the path followed by the Lords of Bizkaia to swear the ancient uses of the territory) and the area of the Urdaibai estuary. In the 18th century, the palace was built next to the tower, giving more presence to this building.

Clock Tower, Madariaga Tower

The clock tower, the building annexed to the Madariaga Tower in neoclassical style that we can see during our visit is inspired by the old lighthouses that dot much of our coastline, curious isn’t it?

Self-guided tour: Although as you all know from TurismoVasco.com we are in favor of guided tours, an option that allows us to leave the script of any scheduled visit, knowing more specifically some aspect of the place that interests us, we liked this self-guided tour for its variety of communication elements. We began the visit with an audiovisual presentation in which people from different cultures and languages expressed what biodiversity means to them, an introduction that makes it clear that the variety and differences between individuals is the essence of biodiversity.

Introduction to the biodiversity center of Euskadi

The next stop on the way is in what is undoubtedly the most lively and colorful room we have seen in all our travels, do not be fooled, the room hides much more than photographs.

Life room, madariaga tower

We continue the visit through the Madariaga Tower discovering different ecosystems and natural environments of the Basque Country, accompanied at all times by spaces for the little ones of the house, spaces that will undoubtedly help them understand the Biodiversity from a didactic and children’s point of view.

Biodiber, spaces for children

We finish our visit to the Biodiversity Center of Euskadi in the elevator that takes us to the top of the Madariaga tower, to the viewpoint. On clear days we have the opportunity to see in great detail the Urdaibai marshes, a luck that unfortunately we did not have.

Viewpoint of the Madariaga Tower

The price and quality of the visit together with the impressive location of the facilities and the history of the same make the Biodiversity Center of Euskadi obtain our exclusive tourist accreditation “TurismoVasco Tiketa”.

Tourism AccreditationVasco Tiketa

Those responsible for this center organize guided tours through the marsh, an extra activity for those who want to put into practice what they have learned in the Madariaga tower. At the end of the visit we have plenty of options to continue enjoying the stunning natural setting in which we find ourselves. An example of this are:

Choose the ones you like the most and start preparing the route around the Biodiversity Center of Euskadi.