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The 10 greenways of the Basque Country, old railway routes converted into a real luxury for our leisure.
The Basque Country has 10 greenways throughout its geography. Gipuzkoa is the Basque province with the most greenways, 5 in total, while Bizkaia has 4 and Alava has only one.
What are greenways? Greenways are disused railway infrastructures that have been converted into routes for cyclists and hikers. Lately the term “greenway” has been used to refer to any type of mountain route, but the words “greenway” were registered by the railroad foundation in 1994 to refer only to those routes that run along old railroad routes.
The foundation, with the sole objective of promoting social activities, has reconverted old stretches of track into routes for cyclists and pedestrians that are very popular throughout the year. The greenways of the Basque Country are crossed daily by hundreds of Basques and tourists, without a doubt, the initiative of the railroad foundation has been and is very successful.
The greenways of the Basque Country are a new option to enjoy the mountains of the Basque Country. Most of the greenways of the Basque Country are not very demanding, thanks to this, these routes are suitable for all audiences, which makes them more successful by extending to a greater number of people.
In the Iberian Peninsula there were about 7,000 kilometers of unserved roads in 1993, stretches that are gradually being converted into greenways, thus serving a new social demand of our century, hiking.
Next we will show you the 10 greenways that we can find in the Basque Country divided by provinces:
Greenways of Alava:
Vía Verde del Fc Vasco – Navarro: A route of great length that joins the port of Arlaban and Estella. This route crosses the mountains and plains of Alava, offering all kinds of landscapes along the way. Routes of this type are usually divided into different sections, giving rise to several shorter routes.
Via verde Vasco-Navarro photo from www.viasverdes.com
Greenways of Gipuzkoa:
Arditurri Greenway: This route covers the stretch that connects Pasaia and the natural park of Aiako harria, a natural environment of great environmental value. A real luxury for our senses.
Arditurri photo from http://www.viasverdes.com
Urola Greenway: This greenway runs along the Urola River from the town of Zumarraga to the town of Zumaia, two towns worth seeing and enjoying.
Urola photo from http://www.viasverdes.com
Mutiloa-Ormaiztegui Greenway: A high mountain route based on the mining route that ran through these lands. The charm of this route is offered by its views, vitas that will not leave us indifferent.
Ormaiztegui photo from http://www.viasverdes.com
Plazaola-Leitzaran Greenway: A route between two provinces, Gipuzkoa and Navarra, two provinces that show us their charms in the form of the valleys of Leitzaran and Larraun. The railroad has given way to bicycles and pedestrians in this great route that we definitely recommend.
Plazaola Leitzaran, photo from http://www.viasverdes.com
Bidasoa Greenway: As the name suggests, this route runs along the banks of the Bidasoa River, a river that marks the border with France. This route, 39 km long, offers endless surprises along the Basque and Navarre municipalities it crosses.
Bidasoa photo from http://www.viasverdes.com
Greenways of Bizkaia:
Arrazola Greenway: Under the Anboto, mystical and emblematic mountain of Bizkaia, runs the Arrazola greenway, in the heart of the Urkiola natural park.
Arrazola, photo from http://www.viasverdes.com
Atxuri Greenway: This route runs between places of great environmental and historical value. The environmental value is offered by the rich landscape of the area, while the historical value is carried by places like the castle of Butron, a magical place that unfortunately is impossible to visit.
Atxuri, photo from http://www.viasverdes.com
Greenway of the Iron Mountains: Perhaps one of the most important routes in Bizkaia, historically speaking. A route that crosses the iron mountains, mountains full of mines where the mineral was extracted. In this route we will find all kinds of surprises, undoubtedly, a long but recommended route. This route, links with the route that we indicate to you next, the route of itsaslur.
Via de los montes de hierro photo from www.viasverdes.com
Paseo del Itsaslur Greenway: A route full of history, mining history, Basque history. A route that runs along the coast of Bizkaia leaving the air the charms of the land it crosses. The views that this route leaves us make it one of the favorite routes of the Biscayans. This greenway is a faithful witness of the mining tradition of the Basque Country, tradition that you can learn thanks to the guided visit that is made by this greenway, if you want information about it you can ask in the forge the Pobal.
Itsaslur, photo from http://www.viasverdes.com
These data that we offer in www.TurismoVasco.com are only a small summary of what we can find in the official website of greenways. If you want more details about any of the greenways of the Basque Country, do not hesitate to enter the official website, there you can find:
– The technical data sheet of each way
– The description of the road
-Track maps
-The track profile
-The history of the railroad where the track runs.
-Data of interest of the road and its environment
-And lastly, links of interest on the road.
As you can see, a new path is opening up before us, a path with a lot of history ready to be traveled, get ready to walk and enjoy our land through the different greenways that we offer in this article.
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