Silver lighthouse, Ulia – Pasaia route.

Walk along the stretch of coast that separates Mount Ulia from Pasaia, know the coastal route of the Faro de la Plata, one of the great watchtowers of the Basque coast.

The route that separates Mount Ulia from Pasaia gives us a nice route along the coast of Gipuzkoa. A walk in which the views are the main protagonists and where the reward comes in the form of the Faro de la Plata and the picturesque town of Pasaia. The plan that we propose today is a unique opportunity to enjoy 2 of the great attractions of the Basque Country: nature and gastronomy. In addition to enjoying the environment that surrounds the Faro de la Plata we have the opportunity to taste some of the best dishes of our land. A perfect plan!

The Faro de la Plata, is presented before us as one of the many attractions that we find on the coastal route that connects Ulia and Pasaia, a building, which will guide us in the various forks that we will find our passed, one of the great protagonists of the day.

The Silver Lighthouse is one of those places that inspires love and mystery, a corner of the Basque geography worthy of mention in any route around the capital of Gipuzkoa. Ibon Martin, lover of his land and writer from San Sebastian, is one of the many people who has succumbed to the charm of this lighthouse in Gipuzkoa, a charm that has led him to turn the Faro de la Plata into the main scenario of his novel “El faro del silencio” (The Lighthouse of Silence).

There are two alternatives when it comes to making the route between Ulia and Pasaia, one short and one long, starting directly on Mount Ulia or in the neighborhood of gros, both as valid as attractive. In our case, we always take advantage of the day to the maximum, so the planning did not leave time to make the full route, so we chose to drive directly up to Ulia. Of course, if you opt for the long route the road has even more surprises, which one do you choose?

Mount Ulia, a space that we had already talked about previously during our visit to the restaurant Mirador de Ulia, is one of the main protagonists of the route that concerns us today. Its ravines, its green forests and the views that it gives us fall in love from the first step of the way. And, when we say that Ulia enchants with its views is not just a personal opinion, this statement is attested by the fact that in the past this mountain served as a watchtower for whale watching, one of the most coveted pieces of fishing by our ancestors.

For those of you who want to do the long route, pay attention, because we are going to break down in broad strokes the path you should take, the rest, you can skip this paragraph quietly. The white and red marks typical of the Grandes Recorridos (GR), guide us from the beginning. The route begins near the beach of La Zurriola, at the end, on the other side of the Kursaal, in Zemoriya street. The road that starts the ascent to Ulia mountain begins next to the gas station, that’s where the good stuff starts. Once we have taken this route, we must follow the road, remember the white and red marks. From this point we must link with the narrow dirt path that leads to the Faro de la Plata, leaving behind the Fort of Mompas and the ikastola Herri Ametza among others. Once past the ikastola (a school that teaches in our language, Euskera), the path of the long option and the short option join, making it a unique path to follow.

We must indicate that the circular route Ulia – Pasaia – Ulia has sections that we will make on foot and sections in which it will be necessary to use public transport (bus, d-bus). And is that, we propose to make the outward journey on foot and return by bus, a combination that saves us a lot of time and effort, a planning, which makes this route a family plan suitable for all types of profiles.

To go up to the parking lot of the Ulia hostel we must take the road that we find on the left side of Mount Ulia, next to the beach of Zurriola, towards the restaurant Mirador de Ulia. A narrow road, full of curves, crosses some houses before taking us to our destination. Remember that the famous Mirador de Ulia restaurant, Ruben Trincado’s house, serves as a reference to know that we are on the right track.

Once in the parking lot of the hostel, we must take one of the many roads that we find on the right side, Ulia Pasalekua. We must not leave this street, so, at the first fork we find we must take the option on the right, straight ahead.

We continue descending, passing by a kind of refuge-hotel with a sign that says “El amor encuentra el camino” in Spanish, English and Basque, another indication that we are still on the right path.

The route takes a steeper slope before reaching the next crossroads, once again we continue straight ahead. But be careful, a few meters away is the detour that we must take on the left hand side. We leave the road and enter the forest, we take a small forest track, a dirt path where the long and short route join. A sign indicates our goal, the Faro de la Plata. The road is not lost, always next to the coast.

Shortly before reaching the Faro de la Plata we find a small space in which a table and a fountain attract our attention, it is the “English fountain”, a corner crossed by the ancient aqueducts that led the water to the capital of Gipuzkoa where we can take a small hamiketako (lunch at 11 in Basque) or just rest.

In our case, we follow the road without stopping, there is nothing left to see the Faro de la Plata in all its splendor and it is preferable to stop along the road next to the lighthouse.

We arrived at the esplanade of the Faro de la Plata, an environment in which the white structure of the lighthouse and the squawking of the seagulls attracts the attention of all who visit it. It is time to enjoy the views, the mouth of the port of Pasaia, the lighthouse and the sea make this idyllic and picturesque place win integers by the second.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to approach to the vicinity of the Faro de la Plata, the sign that we found next to the road says so.

After the photos of rigor from afar, we resume our way, Pasaia San Pedro is at our feet, just need to go down. We follow the road until we find the first fork to take direction Pasaia / Talaia Ibilbidea.

We continue descending until we find the Senokozulua Lighthouse, a magical place, with lots of charm, where we recommend a stop along the way and enjoy the views, the fusion of sea and land in this corner of the Basque coast is unique. The bay of Pasaia opens before our eyes, an impressive natural mouth that takes us into the port of the municipality, what a pleasure!

From Senokozulua we went down some vertiginous and twisting stairs to Albaola, a dynamic and attractive museum that we recommend to visit with eyes closed. And is that, inside is being built a reproduction of an authentic whaler of the sixteenth century in the same way they were built in the old days, by hand, without machines, what a cracks these pasaitarras!

We walk along Pasaia San Pedro until we reach the mooring of the Mater Museum Boat, another space that you cannot miss. A museum that shows us the way of life of the Basque fishermen from the sea, aboard an authentic and original wooden fishing boat.

Next to the Museum is one of the stops of the Pasaia motorboat, public transport that we will use to reach the district of Pasai Donibane (Pasaia San Juan in Spanish), one of the most beautiful points of our coast.

It’s time to cheer up the body with a good tasting of our gastronomy by the sea, it’s time for Ziaboga restaurant and its fish and chips, seasonal fish and real fries, a lifelong dish hidden behind this Anglo-Saxon term.

After lunch, what better than a short walk along the coast of Pasaia to the mouth of the port, a very special route of which we leave you a short video to give you an idea.

And finally, we return along the main street of Pasaia San Juan to visit the House of Victor Hugo, a house overlooking the sea and from which you can contemplate the beauty of Pasaia.

With this last visit we conclude our visit to Pasaia to head to the upper part, to the fronton of the district of San Juan. It is here, where we find the bus stop (Juan XXIII, Frontoia) that will take us to Donostia – San Sebastian, our next destination.

In our case, we got off at the Gipuzkoa Plaza stop to witness the veteran trawler race that took place in La Concha, a type of event where the atmosphere is always guaranteed.

After enjoying the traineras, we only had to climb up to Mount Ulia. We must remember that it is at this point where we have parked our vehicle. There is an urban transport service that connects the center of Donostia-San Sebastian with the Ulia hostel. A somewhat peculiar service, a cab bus, a cab that performs the work of bus due to the low demand that exists for this line.

After our experience in Ulia, the Faro de la Plata, Pasaia and Donostia – San Sebastián we headed to the Bodega Katxiña, an authentic temple of the gastronomy of the Basque Country. You can read about our adventure in this house in Orio in our article “Bodega Katxiña, gastronomic reference of the Basque Country“.

As you can see, we have transformed the original route of the Faro de la Plata, to turn it into a nice and simple walk around Donostia – San Sebastian, Ulia, Pasaia and the Basque coast. A family route, which can also be done in the opposite way, from Pasaia to Ulia. Enjoy the Faro de la Plata and the route Ulia – Pasaia, by the way, do not hesitate to leave your comments in this article.