Shepherd for a day in the Basque Country

Shepherd for a day, an original and attractive experience in the Urkiola Natural Park.

Shepherd for a day, one of the experiences that we offer in our reservation center, has become one of the most demanded activities in the Basque Country. This experience for the whole family, shows us the daily life of the Shepherds in a pleasant, didactic and very attractive way. These characteristics have led Alluitz Natura, the company responsible for the activity, to hang a full house every weekend. Would you like to actively participate in the daily life of a shepherd? The people in charge of this initiative, Patxi and Sílvia, are waiting for us with open arms to spend a unique day with them. Surrounded by chickens, dogs, goats and a flock of latxa sheep, they will teach us the different production possibilities that sheep have and the responsibilities and obligations of a shepherd in the Basque Country. Located in the Urkiola Natural Park, in the foothills of one of the most emblematic mountains of Bizkaia, under the watchful eye of Mari, the lady of Anboto, we begin our experience of shepherd for a day. The road that takes us to Alluitz Natura reveals little by little one of the charms of our destination, the environment. In the same way, we are going to reveal each of the attractions that have made this experience become one of the most demanded in the Basque Country. Are you ready to be a shepherd for a day in the Basque Country? We tell you in advance, you are going to have a great time.

As we have already mentioned, this activity takes place in an environment of great natural value, surrounded by animals. A fact that makes the little ones enjoy every minute they spend at Alluitz Natura. During the experience of shepherd for a day we will have the opportunity to feed the flock, milk sheep, make a wool workshop, give bottles to the lambs and watch the shepherd dogs work. A real treat.

Book online Shepherd for a day.

If you want to book this activity at the best price and without waiting, we recommend you to do it online. You can book this experience quickly and securely directly from our reservation center. If you have any questions, we recommend you to use the comment system that you will find at the end of this article. We will try to respond as soon as possible.

Experience.

The shepherd for a day experience is broken down into several phases or moments. Some of them, such as bottle feeding the lambs, depend largely on the time of year we do the activity. Here is a brief summary of what the activity includes.

Wool workshop.

The handmade transformation of wool is one of the many tasks performed in Alluitz Natura. And the fact is that wool has been, is and will be one of the most used materials to create garments. In fact, many of the technical garments that we can acquire today, use sheep wool to acquire a greater impermeability. A great example of this is mountain socks. Thanks to this workshop we will learn the basic processes that must be carried out to convert wool into a useful object for our daily life. In this case, although Alluitz Natura proposes several options, we have loved the idea of wrapping a core with wool to make a ball. And is that the concept is very similar to the manufacture of a ball of one of the most important and demanded sports of Euskal Herria, the ball hand. Remember that everything you make in this workshop you can take home as a souvenir.

Idiazábal cheese.

Although the pandemic has made it necessary to eliminate the Idiazabal cheese workshop that took place during the Shepherd activity for a day, it has not ceased to be one of the icons of Basque gastronomic culture. A product that, elaborated from latxa and carranzana sheep’s milk, has conquered half the world. In Alluitz Natura they have been producers of Idiazabal cheese with denomination of origin for many years, which makes them true experts in the matter. We encourage you to ask any questions about this subject during the experience, we are sure that they will help you to better understand any concept of the process.

Facilities.

After the experience, Alluitz Natura offers us its facilities so that we can enjoy them without having to pay extra. And there are many families who come to perform the activity of Shepherd for a day and decide to stay in the facilities themselves eating food that they bring from home. A detail that families appreciate. In summer, when the sun is with us, being able to enjoy the family in this privileged natural environment is a real pleasure.

Location.

The experience of a shepherd for a day takes place in Abadiño, in the heart of the Urkiola Natural Park. In the foothills of such emblematic mountains as Anboto. The Urkiola Natural Park covers 7 municipalities of Bizkaia (Abadiño, Amorebieta-Etxano, Atxondo, Dima, Durango, Izurtza and Mañaria) and 1 municipality in the province of Araba (Aramaio). These localities together with the mountains of the Aramotz range, the mountains of Duranguesado and the Arangio range make up the 5,700 hectares of the Urkiola Natural Park. A very special space, which has a unique natural charm. From Alluitz Natura, they propose us to contemplate these mountains from a privileged position while we enjoy their star activity, Shepherd for a day. What do you think?

How to get there.

To get to Alluitz Natura the best option is private transport. And is that its location under the mountains of the Natural Park of Urkiola leaves us no other option. In order to reach the Mendiola neighborhood, we must head towards Abadiño. Once in this urban center, we must take the BI632 road that joins the towns of Elorrio and Durango. At this point, at the height of Muntzaraz, we must take a detour towards Mendiola / Sagasta (to the right if we come from Durango or to the left if we come from Elorrio). We follow the road without turning off until we find a sign for Alluitz Natura 2 kilometers away, we turn left. We follow the road towards Sagasta until we reach the third farmhouse. We have reached our destination.

Shepherd price for one day.

The experience of Shepherd for a day of Alluitz Natura has a great value for money. This 3 to 4 hour activity costs 20€ for adults, 10€ for children between 3 and 12 years old and 0€ (free) for children under 2 years old (Prices subject to change by Alluitz Natura). In our opinion, a very competitive price. And is that during all this time we will enjoy the management of the flock with the shepherd dogs, we will feed the animals, we will milk the sheep by hand and we will do a small wool workshop. In addition, we also have the opportunity to take a walk in the surroundings of Alluitz Natura. Undoubtedly a lot of little details that will make our activity a special experience. As you can see, this is a very competitive price. Remember that minors accompanied by their caregivers must have a maximum ratio of 2 minors for each adult.

Sheep and the rural environment.

The latxa sheep’s gait protects biodiversity. An important part of the maintenance of the mountains of Euskadi is carried out by the herds of latxa sheep that graze in them. The pilgrimage of the Latxa sheep through the natural environments is more than a transhumance. Step by step they clear the undergrowth of the forests at the same time that they sow autochthonous species. Their wool transports the seeds that are trapped in it to later be deposited in other places. They clean and sow. Their walk protects biodiversity. Other municipalities or autonomous communities are forced to hire the services of companies specialized in the cleaning of forests in order to reduce the probability of fire to a minimum. With Alluitz Natura’s sheep, this is not a problem, they do the work for us! Alluitz Natura promotes ecotourism as an axis of economic diversification in the vicinity of Urkiola Natural Park. That is why participating in the experience “Shepherd for a day” means promoting the sustainability of the rural economy, helping to keep alive one of the oldest trades of our people.

Participatory experience.

Participate, not just observe. We consider this activity as an experience. Each participant experiences the sensations of a day to day life that is far away from them. By sharing Patxi’s daily tasks, we will realize how beautiful it is to be a shepherd, but also how hard it can be to run a farm like his. Are you ready to be a shepherd for a day?

Large group visits.

Schools and companies also have a place in Shepherd for a day. In fact, these groups occupy a large part of the agenda of this Basque space. Especially on weekdays. If you are considering the possibility of visiting Alluitz Natura in groups of more than 30 people, we encourage you to use our contact form so that we can send you the rates for each group.

Opinions about Shepherd for a Day.

Your opinion is very important. That’s why we invite you to leave a comment in this article about your experience at Alluitz Natura, or, if you prefer, you can also post your experience on social networks. Or, if you prefer, you can also post your experience on social networks, don’t forget to tag us! As many of you already know, until today we have carried out several sweepstakes in collaboration with Alluitz Natura. The result of this are the opinions about Shepherd for a day that we have received on our social networks(Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube) and website. In any case, the opinion of all our users about the experience of Shepherd for a day has been very positive. So much so, that it has become one of the best rated experiences in our booking center. An example of this are these two opinions of our readers, who, after finishing the activity echoed through social networks of their experience in Alluitz Natura:

What to see near Abadiño.

The province of Bizkaia has really impressive spaces, places that, located less than 30 minutes from Abadiño, allow us to enjoy magical corners, movie. Here are some of the places we recommend you to visit. We hope you like them.

What to do near Abadiño.

The towns surrounding Abadiño perfectly complement the experiences that we find in this incredible town of Euskadi. So, we encourage you to know some of the activities that we like the most in the Historical Territory of Bizkaia. Are you ready?

Shepherd for a day video.

As usual in our articles, we wanted to accompany the words and photographs about the experience of Shepherd for a day with a short video. An audiovisual, which we hope will help you to get a more real idea of what awaits you in this incredible adventure in the Natural Park of Urkiola. If you like this kind of videos about Euskal Herria we encourage you to subscribe to our YouTube channel, we are sure you will find many destinations and experiences to enjoy.

As you have been able to see the star experience of Alluitz Natura, Shepherd for a day, encourages us to enjoy the landscape, animals and traditions of Euskadi as a family. A great plan for all those people who are looking for options to enjoy our land. In case you have any questions about this experience, we recommend you to use the comment system that you will find below these lines to let us know. We will try to respond as soon as possible. Ondo pass!