Besaide

Besaide, the peak where the 3 Basque provinces meet.

Besaide or Betsaide, the peak where the 3 Basque provinces(Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa) meet, is one of the most special places in the Basque Country. An emblematic corner of Basque mountaineering. In fact, every year, on the third Sunday of September, an event is held in Besaide to commemorate all the deceased mountaineers. In the same space where the 3 provinces meet, we find two monuments in honor of all these people. But these are not its only attractions, the incredible views of mountains like Anboto or Udalatz are another of the great attractions of this space located 550 meters above sea level. If you want to know how to get to Besaide and any other aspect related to this iconic space, we encourage you to read each and every one of the sections of this publication. Would you like to get to know Besaide with us?

Did you know that Besaide is the name of the software application of Kutxabank bank? Although it may seem that this management software was baptized with this name in 2012, after the merger of the 3 Basque savings banks (BBK, Kutxa and Vital), its origin lies in the former BBK (Bilbao Bizkaia Kutxa). And the fact is that the resulting bank (Kutxabank) adopted the computer system of the Biscayan savings bank. Interesting, isn’t it?

Monuments of Besaide.

In Besaide there are 2 monuments. Both were created with the same objective: to remember and honor the deceased mountaineers. The first one was created on October 30, 1955. After the tragic event of 1953 in which several Basque mountaineers died on Mont Blanc, the Navarre Basque Mountaineering Club commissioned Luis Pueyo to create this architectural work. Since then, every year a pilgrimage is made to this monument to remember all those people.In 1990, Euskal Mendizale Federazioa, commissioned the Japanese architect Yoshin Ogata another monument to remember the Basque mountaineers. This work was located a few meters from the previous one, under the name of “Fuente de Vida” (Fountain of Life). At present, about 60 stairs separate both monuments, an incredible place that has become a symbol of Euskadi.

How to get to Besaide.

This 550 meters high peak has affordable routes, which is why it is visited by all kinds of people. What about you? There are more than 4 routes to access Besaide. The most traditional are the ones that start from Elorrio, Aramaio and Arrasate Mondragon. In any case, we recommend you to do it from the neighborhood of Udala, from Arrasate Mondragon. A rural neighborhood located at the foot of Mount Udalatx, which offers a pleasant walk to Besaide. The route starts next to the church of San Esteban, from the side of the road. You can leave the car next to the bar-restaurant Uxarte. Once in this parking lot, we must go back along the shoulder of the road (very careful) until almost reaching the church of San Esteban. And it is that 100 meters before reaching the temple we find a detour on the right that leads us into the forest. Once on the forest track, just follow the signs to Leintz Gatzaga to reach Besaide.

Video.

As usual in all our publications, we have created a short video so you can see more realistically what awaits you at your next destination. In this case, in the video you can see the route we did to Besaide from the neighborhood of Udala. A simple route, which allows us to know Besaide in family. If you like this kind of videos, we encourage you to subscribe to our YouTube channel to discover all the experiences and places that we recommend in Euskadi. We are waiting for you!

Excursion to Besaide for groups.

Families, groups, associations, schools and companies that want to know Besaide through an organized excursion, you can contact us so that we can send you all the details. It is a complete experience that includes transport, guide and food (more or less services can be included depending on your needs). Remember that we do excursions all over the Basque Country, do not hesitate to contact us for prices and services.

Where to eat.

The nearby town of Udala offers several gastronomic options to choose from. The Larrinetxe and Uxarte restaurants are usually a good option. In our last visit, we enjoyed the culinary proposals of Uxarte. On that occasion, we tasted a plate of frikatxa (a scrambled egg dish with lamb blood and offal typical of the area) and a good paella. A perfect menu to regain strength after a nice walk in the middle of nature. In any case, remember that the region of Debagoiena has great gastronomic establishments, we encourage you to take the car and enjoy some of these options. On egin!

Family routes.

If you like hiking, we encourage you to get to know Euskadi while doing some sport. A great option for nature lovers. If you find our proposal interesting, we recommend you to read the article we have dedicated to family routes in Euskadi (we are constantly updating it). We leave you a couple of examples of this area. We hope you like them.

What to see near Besaide.

If you want to continue enjoying the places of interest that surround Besaide, we encourage you to take a look at this list that we propose. We must remember that in Besaide the provinces of Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa are joined, so we propose spaces of the 3 provinces.

Activities in the Basque Country.

If you would like to know Euskadi through active tourism activities and experiences, we encourage you to take a look at our reservation center. Here are some of the options most requested by our readers. Remember that these are just examples, we have dozens of guided tours and activities in Euskadi. We hope you like them.

As you have been able to see, Besaide is one of the most important spaces in Euskadi. A place of great significance. In case you have any questions about Besaide, we encourage you to use the comment system below these lines to send them to us. We will try to respond as soon as possible. Ondo passes!