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Saldropo Wetland, an incredible natural space in the heart of the Gorbeia Natural Park.
The Saldropo wetland is one of the most special natural areas of Zeanuri and Bizkaia. A place located around a large peat bog, which invites us to enjoy nature with the family. And is that this plain located at the foot of Mount Gorbeia besides being the starting point for more than half a dozen routes, also offers more than 3 hectares of vegetation with services of all kinds (parking, toilets, barbecues and tables). Remember that we offer excursions for hiking trails, forest baths and photography courses in Saldropo. If you are interested in any of these services, we recommend you to contact us through our contact form. Would you like to get to know the Saldropo Wetland with us?
Hiking trails in Saldropo.
The Saldropo wetland is a perfect destination for those who want to immerse themselves in nature and enjoy the tranquility of the environment. In this sense, the best way to get to know Saldropo is its circular route of 2 kilometers long. And it is that this family walk, encourages us to complement the tour by visiting impressive places such as the Uguna Waterfall, the Otzarreta Beech Forest or the summit of Gorbeia. We recommend that you do the tour in a clockwise direction starting from the parking lot. If you do it in this direction, the wetland will always remain on your right.
After walking about 800 meters, we will find the first detour. If we continue forward we will reach the Otzarreta beech forest, one of the most beautiful areas of Euskadi, while if we turn right we will continue the circular route. We recommend you to take a detour to enjoy this impressive place.
On returning from the Otzarreta beech forest, we return to the route and walk 800 meters until we reach the lime kiln (karobia in Basque), primitive kilns where lime was made from limestone.
It is here, a few meters from the lime kiln, where we find a new detour that takes us to the Peñas de Atxuri mountain. This route does not have a profile as familiar as the rest of the routes that we propose. However, at the beginning of the route, we find a stretch of the Uguna stream that creates small waterfalls (not to be confused with the Uguna waterfall).
We return to the circular route. After 50 meters, we find another of Saldropo’s attractions. This time it is the interpretation center. A place, in which the fauna and flora of the area is put in value. It also indicates us the most emblematic mountains that we can appreciate from Saldropo.
We follow the road back to the parking lot. Be careful, about 50 meters before the parking we find another detour on the left. This is the track that we must take to get to the waterfall of Uguna. We recommend you to read our article about the Uguna waterfall to know the route and the rest of the details.
Video.
As usual in all our publications, we have created a video to show you as real as possible what you will find in Saldropo. In case you like this kind of videos, we encourage you to subscribe to our YouTube channel to discover all the places and experiences that we recommend in Euskal Herria. We are waiting for you!
Excursions and guided tours.
As many of you already know, we organize excursions, activities, guided tours and any other tourist service in Euskadi. In this case, we offer the possibility of several excursions to all the groups that visit us. Remember that as these are natural areas, these excursions are limited to a small number of people. Do not hesitate to contact us, these excursions can be customized according to the tastes and needs of each group.
- Photography experience in SaldropoThe beech forest of Otzarreta and the beech forest of Presazelai, two of the most beautiful natural areas of Bizkaia and Euskadi, offer us a perfect place to put into practice our knowledge of photography. In this case, the group will be accompanied at all times by a professional photographer who has worked for large companies and organizations such as Iberdrola or the Basque Government.
- Hiking in SaldropoDuring this excursion we will make a beautiful and simple route to visit places such as the Otzarreta beech forest, the Uguna waterfall, Saldropo or the Presazelai beech forest among others.
Barbecues and tables.
Saldropo has several areas with barbecues, tables and benches. A perfect place to spend the day with the family. Unfortunately, these tables and barbecues get busy very quickly. Especially in high season. We recommend you to get up early to enjoy them. Remember that barbecues are one of the origins of the fires that ravage our land in summer, please respect the current regulations at all times.
What to see.
Near Saldropo we find some amazing places. We leave you a small list with some recommendations, we hope they will help you to plan your day in Saldropo and surroundings.
How to get there.
To get to Saldropo we must head for the port of Barazar. We can reach Barazar from Otxandio, Zeanuri or Legutio. We recommend you to use the N-240 road and take the forest track that starts in front of the Barazar bar. Once on this track, we must travel 2.5 km until we reach the Saldropo parking lot.
Where to park.
Saldropo only has a small parking lot next to the barbecue area and tables. A parking lot with capacity for about 30 vehicles that is usually filled very easily. Especially in high season. We recommend you to get up early.
Where to eat.
In the area we find mythical restaurants. Establishments such as the Azurmendi restaurant in Dima, the Korostondo restaurant in Otxandio or the Ipar Itsaso seafood restaurant in Urrunaga. We recommend you to book in advance in any of them. Remember that you can get more information about each of these restaurants by clicking on them.
History of Saldropo, the peat bog.
The Saldropo peat bog was one of the most special natural areas of Bizkaia and Euskadi until its exploitation in the 70’s. It was at this time when the total extraction of the existing peat in Saldropo was granted. The mine was active during several periods: from 1972 to 1979 and from 1986 to 1989. Finally, the peat bog was destroyed and with it some of the protected species in the Gorbeia Natural Park. Although efforts are currently being made to recover this natural area, irreparable damage was caused during its exploitation.
Recommendations and advice.
After making dozens of trips to the Saldropo Wetland, we have put together a number of tips and recommendations. We hope you find them helpful. Do not hesitate to use the comment system at the end of this article to ask us any questions you may have. We will try to respond as soon as possible.
- We recommend you to wear hiking shoes and clothes. Especially in the rainy season.
- Avoid entering the wetland at all times.
- If you plan to make the route to the Uguna waterfall, we recommend you to bring hiking poles.
- The knowledge of a local guide can make your visit much more interesting. Do not hesitate to contact us.
- Please respect the fauna and flora of Saldropo.
- The best time of the year to visit Saldropo is autumn.
As you have seen, Saldropo is one of the best places in Bizkaia and Euskadi to spend the day with the family. The wetlands, cows, horses and other animals make the little ones have a lot of fun. In case you have any questions, we encourage you to use the comment system of this article to let us know. We will try to respond as soon as possible. Ondo pass!
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