Otzarreta beech forest, the magic forest of Gorbeia.

Otzarreta beech forest, one of the most striking and photographed areas in the Basque Country.

The Otzarreta Beech Forest is a magical place, a unique natural space in the world, a kind of natural utopia where everything seems to be thought out in detail. Its composition and environment envelop us completely in an incredible atmosphere of tranquility and fantasy, in a naturally perfect world. The peculiar formation recreated by the centuries-old beech trees and the meandering riverbed that runs through it (Zubizabala), turn the Otzarreta Beech Forest into a natural space that leaves us absorbed, breathless. A visual spectacle, to which we must add the auditory spectacle of the murmur of the water of the stream that crosses it, the noise produced when walking on the mantle of fallen leaves during the autumn or the singing of the birds that inhabit it. In other words, a space that has earned its own merits to be on the agenda of many of the people who visit us.

The Otzarreta Beech Forest is located in the Gorbeia Natural Park, on the Biscayan side. This Natural Park is an icon of our land, a reference point for all nature lovers. A rural space, which, represented by the cross that crowns its summit (1,482 meters), offers beautiful views over the provinces of Bizkaia and Araba, its two slopes. Gorbeia possesses all kinds of natural spaces in his slope bizkaina (the zone that occupies to us today), great pasture zones (Arraba’s fields), beech groves and oak groves (Beech grove of Otzarreta), steep rocks (Massif of Itzina) and other dozens of spaces more, that invite us to venture to us in his mystical entrails. A karstic set of great geological interest, which keeps alive the passion of the Basques for mountaineering and nature.

Surrounded by small but charming villages such as Ubide, Areatza or Zeanuri among others, we find rural areas of great value such as the Saldropro Wetland and the Otzarreta Beech Forest, places where nature is the main protagonist.

Located on the border of the provinces of Bizkaia and Araba, in the emblematic mountain pass of Barazar (606 meters above sea level), we find the forest track that leads us to the Saldropo Wetland, but not before passing through a very special beech forest, Otzarreta. If you are thinking of visiting this place, we recommend reading each and every one of the points mentioned below. Attention!

Small but intense, this small beech forest has become, together with the river that crosses it, one of the most visited areas of Bizkaia. A small piece of land where the trees raise their branches with extreme verticality in a failed attempt to reach the sky.

Location: The Otzarreta beech forest is located within the territorial limits of the Gorbeia Natural Park, on its Biscayan slope, at its eastern end. An area of great natural wealth that belongs to the Biscayan town of Zeanuri, a village located in the beautiful Arratia Valley. One of the most beautiful corners of the interior of Bizkaia.

Once again, one of the attractions of Gorbeia is once again the protagonist of our articles. This time, it is the turn of the incredible Otzarreta beech forest. It is not the first time we talk about this Natural Park and its lost treasures, and it will not be the last. For all those people who hear about Gorbeia for the first time, we leave you a small appetizer in the form of some of our most read articles about this Natural Park.

Saldropo: The Otzarreta beech forest is not alone. Surrounding it, we find other areas of great natural interest, such as Saldropo, a wetland of about 3 hectares in size, which is one of the most attractive leisure areas in the area. This wetland offers countless options for spending the day, from routes of all kinds of difficulty, to barbecue areas where you can spend time with friends and family. In Saldropo, humidity and water are a constant, necessary elements to safeguard the great habitat that has been created around it. A wetland full of life of which we must emphasize the different spaces with information panels on the fauna and flora that we find scattered around the main parking lot.

How to get to the Otzarreta Beech Forest: To get to the Otzarreta Beech Forest you must take the national road “N-240” until you reach the Puerto de Barazar. This road is the same for people coming from Vitoria – Gasteiz or from Bilbao. The road that connects these two provincial capitals has existed since ancient times, witness of this is the road that accompanies this road during part of its route.

Once in the port itself, at approximately kilometer 38, we find buildings on both sides, left and right. We must turn to the opposite side to the Barazar bar and restaurant, towards the Bengoetxea bar. To the left of this same place (Bengoetxea), there is a cement forest track (in perfect condition for the passage of vehicles), which takes us directly to any of the parking lots we choose to park our car.

In the photograph above we can see 4 points marked, each of them represents a parking lot or space where cars can be parked. Here is a brief summary of the parking lots in the Otzarreta beech forest and its surroundings:

Where to eat: At this point we recommend 2 options: Barbecue or restaurant. It all depends on tastes, budgets and the time of year when you visit this space (a barbecue in winter can be a bit tough). If you decide for the barbecue, the best area adapted for it is the one we find next to the parking lot of Saldropo, of course, they are usually occupied quite quickly so we recommend going to take place soon. On the other hand, if you decide to eat in a restaurant, you have 2 places near the Otzarreta beech forest to choose from: the port of Barazar and Ubide. We recommend the Barazar restaurant, an establishment of all life, without any reform, which is usually full of mushroom pickers, hunters and ranchers, people who know the environment that choose this establishment as a gastronomic meeting point, for something, right?

Interpretation Center: If you want to learn about the areas surrounding the Otzarreta Beech Forest, we recommend you to visit the interpretation centers that the Gorbeia Natural Park has in its two sides: Bizkaia and Araba. Taking into account that the protagonist of this article (the Otzarreta beech forest) is located on the Biscayan side, we recommend the interpretation center of Areatza, about 10 to 15 minutes by car. In the Parketxe de Areatza they will inform you of everything you can see and do during your stay in the vicinity of this Natural Park.

Charcoal burners: The charcoal burner’s trade, nowadays almost extinct, has been the one who has molded most of the beech trees that we find in the forests surrounding the urban centers of Euskadi. It was the charcoal burners who, starting in September, pruned the beech trees with the sole purpose of preparing the fire for the charcoal kilns. As a result of this activity, the beeches in their natural state became what is known as “trasmochas” beeches. A fact that we can appreciate to perfection in the Otzarreta beech forest. In our humble opinion, these beech forests are a treasure of nature and history, a heritage that we must take care of with love and knowledge.

Route: Although it is not necessary to take a route to discover the Otzarreta beech forest, there are options to combine the visit to this magical place with some exercise. Thus, depending on where we park our vehicle, we find different options. All the parking lots mentioned above are connected to each other by concrete or dirt tracks that can be perfectly covered on foot. Trails, which give rise to trace routes of all kinds of length and difficulty to travel throughout the area. In our case, we did a short round trip route. A route that begins and ends in the Otzarreta beech forest and whose main objective is to know this place and the Saldropo wetland.

To do this, just follow the path that we find to the right of Otzarreta. Hidden behind the trees, there is a small dirt road that after climbing a small slope shows us a fork, first choice, we take the path to the right, down. The rest is simple, straight ahead until you reach the core of the Saldropo Wetland (parking and recreation area).

Once in Saldropo, we recommend doing the circular route. We just have to follow the track that surrounds the wetland, a flat and very simple walk, which merges with the path by which we have come and that will take us back to Otzarreta.

The beech forest: The Otzarreta beech forest is small and cozy. It is a small forest that can be easily covered in less than 15 minutes. The most striking elements are its beeches and the stream that runs through it. Of course, wear appropriate footwear, the mud is a constant in Otzarreta. We leave you a small unedited video to give you a real idea of its dimensions and attractions.

Horn mountains: Gorbeia, summit that we can observe from some of the clearings of the forest of Otzarreta, is one of the 5 horn mountains of Bizkaia, one of the most emblematic. The honking mountains were the places from where the General Meetings were called by means of bonfires and the sounds of the horns, a fact that we talked about in more detail in our article on how to elaborate honking horns.

Family: The ease of access and the beauty of the Otzarreta beech forest make it a perfect plan for all those who are looking for a family getaway in Bizkaia. The nearest parking lot is located just a few meters from the beech forest, making the difficulty of the walk in our own hands.

The photo: Leaving the Otzarreta beech forest without a photo is a real crime. We must capture the moment. Photos of Otzarreta flood the social networks, especially in autumn. All the photos are similar, but none is the same. Visitors try to capture the spirit of the place, the harmony of all its elements, and although it is not easy, they try until they succeed. Each photo is a world, but all of them capture some of the attractions of the area, it’s all a matter of taste and which one do you choose?

Fauna and flora: Gorbeia is one of the areas where we find the greatest natural wealth in Euskadi. An example of this is the experience of the bellowing that we enjoyed from the hand of those responsible for the Alava side of this Basque space. In the case of the Otzarreta Beech Forest and the Saldropo Wetland, the species that attract most attention are amphibians, but we should not underestimate species as representative as roe deer, deer or wild boar.

A visit to the Otzarreta beech forest, king of the Basque beech forests, has become another of the must-see places on any trip to the Basque Country. Would you like to visit it?