Route through Urdaibai, a family walk among marshes.

Walking this route through Urdaibai while enjoying the scenery that gives us this Biosphere Reserve is a gift for the senses.

The Urdaibai route that we show you today is, in our humble opinion, one of the most beautiful and pleasant routes in Euskadi. A simple, enjoyable and very interesting route, which takes us to know some of the most beautiful corners of the eastern coast of Bizkaia. This walk through Urdaibai leads us from Gernika to Kortezubi passing through Forua, 3 urban centers that hide many surprises inside and that we strongly recommend you to visit. The marshes and baserris ( Basque for farmhouses), comprise one of the most beautiful landscapes of this area, a colorful space, which, captained by the Oka estuary, draws an impressive landscape on the horizon. This route through Urdaibai has its origin in the urban center of Gernika, in the neighborhood of Errenteria, near the bridge of the same name. As a curiosity, it is worth mentioning that this structure, which marks the beginning of our walk, was, together with the Casa de Juntas and the arms factory, one of the military targets of the bombing of Gernika in 1937. And although, after that terrible massacre a great part of Gernika was destroyed, it is curious to see how none of the 3 objectives mentioned above was destroyed. We must mention that, although this route can be done from both banks of the estuary, we recommend going along the right bank (towards Lekeitio) and return along the left bank. All a success. Among the attractions of this route through Urdaibai, we find its location, surrounded by an incredible natural environment. Wild and exciting. For all those who do not know Urdaibai, tell you that it is something like the natural paradise of Bizkaia, a piece of land that due to its natural wealth and biodiversity, was named a Biosphere Reserve by Unesco in 1984. A space of great beauty of which we have already spoken on more than one occasion. The biodiversity found in this Basque space, gives us the opportunity to see firsthand a wide variety of birds, which, attracted by the marshes and wetlands of Urdaibai, live among us almost all year round. Therefore, this walk through the heart of Urdaibai is a luxury for the senses.

During the route, there are several stretches where the stone and dirt track leaves space for wooden walkways built over the water. These are spaces where it is inevitable to look at the water in search of life. In our case, we came across what looked like a siren(Anguis fragilis) and a cormorant. Two very common animals in our environment, in Euskadi, that at least, we could classify as curious. The first of them, which in Euskal Herria we know as siron or zirauna in Basque, is usually confused with a snake, but it is actually a legless lizard, a somewhat peculiar species that is also known in other areas of the peninsula as Culebrilla de cristal, Lución, Enánago or Esculibiertu. Curious right?

This route through Urdaibai, linear, pedestrian and of little difficulty, takes us along a path that runs along the outskirts of the estuary of Gernika. An area known as the upper estuary of the Oka estuary offers a familiar route through which to get from Gernika to Kortezubi between wetlands.

Route: The Urdaibai route that we bring you today has a thousand and one variants, a thousand and one options. The route we show you in this article is just a small section of the route PR-BI 181. This family walk has the company of the estuary for much of the route, a traveling companion that beautifies the environment while protecting all kinds of animals inside. Our itinerary through Urdaibai can be separated into 2 sections, Gernika – Kortezubi (3.92 km one way) and Kortezubi – Gernika (3.92 km return), 7.84 km in total. We leave to your choice, to take or not, the detour that we find on the way back towards Forua, a detour that would add 1 km more to our plan of the day and that gives us the opportunity to see the small but famous Roman Complex of the municipality. It is also possible to make this same route in the opposite direction, i.e., leaving the car in the free parking that we found in Kortezubi and make the route towards Gernika, it all depends on your preferences. We opted for the first option. Towards Kortezubi and with the added visit to Forua. It all starts at the Errenteria Bridge, a mythical structure of Gernika, which helps the Gernikarras to save the Oka River as it passes through the town. Caution, however, before the bridge we find a level crossing, which, although it is perfectly controlled by a traffic light and barriers, it is always advisable to take special care in the vicinity of these spaces. Once we are on the other side of the river, in the neighborhood of Errenteria, we must only follow the riverbed along Uharte Street, and this path runs parallel to this natural element for almost its entire length. At the beginning of the road, the road surface is made of cement and stone, but do not worry, it soon becomes a cemented dirt track that allows us to walk in total comfort. Gradually, trees and marshes take over the landscape, we leave behind the cement and the typical structures of civilization. This is the moment when we begin to see ducks, seagulls, herons and the occasional cormorant as we advance. After walking between wooden walkways and dirt tracks for about 1 kilometer, we reach a crossroads. This is where the wooden bridge that we will use on the way back to Gernika is located. We turn right towards Kortezubi, a sign warns us that we are 1.7 km from our destination, we move away from the estuary. After 400 meters, we must turn left and head towards the baserris that we find in the vicinity. It is here, after climbing a small hill and turning left, where we find the first architectural barrier of the route, we have to go down a few stairs. The stairs, made of wood and wider than usual, make it uncomfortable to go down at a brisk pace, but do not worry, it is not a problem. After descending the stairs, we return to the water level. So let us know the wooden walkways that we find. We continue advancing between baserris and green fields until we see in the distance the church of the Enderika neighborhood of Kortezubi, we are close. We recommend taking special care on this stretch of the trail, as the planks that make up the wooden walkway are not in the best condition. Be careful where you step. Before reaching Kortezubi we encounter the second architectural barrier of the day, more stairs. Arriving at Enderika on our left we find the church of the town followed by the town hall. It is here, on the first floor of the town hall, where the bar-restaurant Bernaretxe is located, a perfect place to get strength before returning on our own steps. For those people to whom this tour is not enough, you should know that less than 30 minutes walk away we have 2 tourist attractions of great level of Urdaibai. On the one hand, we find Urdaibai Bird Center, the closest of the two, about 10 minutes walk. If you decide to visit this space, we ask you to be careful, since part of the way runs along the shoulder of the road to Kortezubi. On the other hand, we find the Oma Forest, about 30 minutes walk away. Both are very worthwhile. After a drink at the Bernaretxe bar, we return to Gernika. The route is exactly the same as before, with the only exception that when we reach the aforementioned bridge, we must cross it. After passing the bridge, after approximately 200 meters, we find the detour to the Roman Settlement of Forua.The visit to this tourist attraction involves adding 1 km more to the 7.84 km mentioned at the beginning. At your choice. If you decide to visit these ruins, we recommend extreme caution on the level walk that we found on the way, it is not regulated by barriers and poses a risk to the smallest of the house. Whether you visit the Roman Settlement of Forua or not, we are in the final stretch of the walk through Urdaibai, about 2 km from the end, after passing next to the sports complex of Urbieta, we arrive back to the starting point. This is the end of our adventure. This route is listed as one of the routes of Urdaibai cholesterol. A route that has a cumulative drop of about 40 meters making it suitable for all ages.

Accessibility: As you have seen, this route is not 100% accessible. During the tour, there are several points where it is impossible for people with reduced mobility to overcome the architectural barriers that we encounter. Although there are only 2 flights of stairs that we found during the route, they are enough to make this route is not recommended for people in wheelchairs or families traveling with strollers. We have to say that, although the stairs are not many and can be overcome by couples who decide to carry their children’s car during this section, we see practically impossible to do the same with an adult person in a wheelchair.

Urdaibai: This Basque space is one of the most striking natural areas of our land. A place that was declared a Unesco Biosphere Reserve in 1984 and remains a natural reference throughout the Basque Country. In this case, we will visit the shellfish that forms the Oka river, a river that, after being born in the Oiz mountain, flows into the Cantabrian Sea at the height of the charming village of Mundaka. But this is not the only enclave that makes Urdaibai a unique space, the beach of Laida, shaped by the coming and going of the tides or the beach of Laga, located under the gaze of the huge massif of Ogoño, are other spaces that faithfully represent what we can find inside this small earthly paradise. We recommend you to visit this small Basque txoko, we are sure you will love it.

Recommendations: Although the route through Urdaibai that takes us to Kortezubi does not have any difficulty, it is always advisable to take certain measures to make our experience the best possible. Here are a few tips.

Where to eat: This route through Urdaibai allows us to eat before, after or during the route. Although in our opinion the best option is to eat after the route, we must say that there are options for all tastes.

We hope that any of the options presented are to your liking, however, there are many others, it all depends on your tastes and budgets.

Where to park: Taking as a reference the beginning of this route through Urdaibai, the best place to leave our cars is in the parking lot that we find next to the Ertzaina barracks in Gernika, near the train station institutua. A free parking, which allows us to enjoy this route without having to worry about our vehicle. If this parking is full, we recommend you to try to park in the Errenteria neighborhood of Gernika, as close as possible to Uharte street. This is the area from where we start this walk through Urdaibai. Anyway, Gernika is not very big, so any place you find to park near the exit of Gernika towards Lekeitio will be a good option. We remind you that almost the entire center of Gernika is regulated by OTA (Traffic and Parking Ordinance), so we recommend that you check the schedule and the area where you park before parking your vehicle.

How to get there: To get to Gernika, the starting point of our route through Urdaibai, it is possible to use both public and private transport. Both are as valid as practical. This urban center located about 30 km from Bilbao, 100 km from Donostia San Sebastian and 70 km from Vitoria Gasteiz, represents the heart of Urdaibai, a must-see place on any trip to Bizkaia. In case you use public transport, one of the best options is to use the services of Euskotren, the public train company of Euskadi. Currently, there are regular lines that connect Bilbao with the capital of Urdaibai through direct services, which, with a cost of less than 2 € and a duration of about 50 minutes, represent a great option to travel to our destination. If you prefer to go by bus, Bizkaibus, the public bus company of Bizkaia, offers several lines to reach the capital of Bizkaia. On the other hand, if you use private transport, our recommendation is to take the A-8 towards Donostia to later take the BI-635 road, you can’t get lost.

Other routes through Urdaibai: Although the walk we recommend today is one of the most beautiful we have done in Urdaibai, it is not the only one. And, among our articles, you can find other family walks that will take you to magical forests or wild beaches, it all depends on your preferences. Among all of them, we highlight the following 3, we hope you like them.

What to see nearby: Many people ask us how to complement this route, that is, what to do in Urdaibai. In these cases, we advise them to choose some of the many places that can be visited in Urdaibai, a territory rich in variety and quality, a space full of attractions to visit. It is for this reason that we have designed a small list with the places you can visit near this route through Urdaibai. Here are some examples.

Video route through Urdaibai: As you have seen in our last articles, we are trying to complement the words and photos of each of our destinations through a video hosted on our YouTube channel. A practice that is being very well received and that we have decided to apply to this route that separates Gernika and Kortezubi. If you have not yet done so, we recommend that you subscribe to our YouTube channel to follow our adventures throughout the Basque Country. In our humble opinion, videos are a very attractive and visual tool to show some of the most beautiful corners of our land.

As you have been able to see, the Urdaibai route that we propose today is a fantastic plan to enjoy this area of the coast of Bizkaia with the family. A simple and beautiful walk that gives us the opportunity to know the stretch of marshes and wetlands that separates Gernika and Kortezubi, two of the most important urban centers of the surroundings. As always, we recommend that you leave us your comments in this article with any questions you may have, we will try to answer as soon as possible. Ondo pasa!