Peru-Harri, the museum of Iñaki Perurena.

Peru-Harri, the museum of Iñaki Perurena, a life turned into a museum.

We visited Peru-Harri, the museum that the Perurena family has in Leitza, Navarra. A space that pays tribute to the stone, the Herri Kirolak (rural sports) and many other aspects that are part of the identity of the Basque people. The most representative figure of this museum is Iñaki Perurena, a legend in the Basque Country. Iñaki, besides being known as the father of modern stone lifting, is also known as an actor. Many of us have grown up watching him lift stones as a harrijasotzaile (stone lifter in Basque) while watching him act in the series Goenkale, one of the longest-running series in Europe (21 seasons, 3,707 episodes). That is why we attach great importance to the fact that Iñaki himself is the one who welcomes us in Peru-Harri, a luxury guide. A real honor. The words “Harri, herri, mito”, welcome us in Peru-Harri. Some terms that summarize wonderfully what we find in this Navarrese space. Harri (stone), herri (people), mito (myth). Iñaki and his family have built with their own hands, using the tools of the farmhouse, a series of sculptures, which, merged with the objects found inside the baserri (farmhouse in Basque) Gorrittenea, form the permanent collection of Peru-Harri. Thus, we can say that this museum has 2 differentiated spaces: the interior and the exterior of the baserri. A very complete visit, which has an approximate duration of about 2 hours. The official tourism website of Navarra defines Peru-Harri as “the museum that Iñaki Perurena has dedicated to stone in the middle of the mountain”, a definition that, in our opinion, is somewhat poor. Peru-Harri is much more than that. This space located in the middle of nature, keeps inside a good dose of culture, history, identity, feelings… Every word and object of this place reflects a great part of the life of Iñaki Perurena and his family. Peru-Harri is much more than a museum.

The Perurena family, led by Iñaki, built this museum located in the Gorrittenea farmhouse, two kilometers from Leitza, in the valley of Leitzaran. Among the great attractions of this museum, we find the sculpture of the harrijasotzaile. A striking figure of more than 8 meters and 40 tons, with which all the people who visit Peru-Harri are photographed. We must say that, although we define Peru-Harri as the museum of Iñaki Perurena, we know that it is a family achievement. All the members of the family have contributed their small grain of sand to this great project. The most outstanding example is his son Inaxio, a true reflection of his father. The person who has decided to continue with the family tradition of lifting stones. This young Leitzarra, walks his stones all over Euskal Herria creating passion and fondness, promoting this great rural sport. From here, our most sincere admiration.

It is Iñaki Perurena Gartziarena (Leitza, September 23, 1956) himself who welcomes us to his baserri in Leitza. This butcher and livestock farmer from Navarre has dedicated a large part of his life to stone. And the fact is that lifting stones has been the great passion of his life. So much so that he revolutionized the herri kirolak with a new technique for lifting stones. Authentic R+D+I (Research, development and innovation). Thousands of exhibitions in squares and frontons are left behind. A lot of effort, work and sacrifice. But Iñaki has not only been a great athlete, he also had great success as an actor in the series Goenkale, one of the longest-running in Europe. 21 years on the air, almost nothing. Less known are his facets as a bertsolari, writer or sculptor, aspects that we can appreciate in the enormous sculptures that we find in the fields surrounding Gorrittenea. What most caught our attention about Iñaki Perurena were his skills as a communicator, his humility and kindness. But above all, the way he expressed himself. He conquered us with a light speech, full of vitality, passion and enthusiasm. Undoubtedly, we are before one of the best representatives we have known of Basque culture and history. We have much to learn. During our visit to Leitza, we were fortunate to meet two other members of the Perurena family, his son Inaxio in the vicinity of the butcher’s shop and his son Xabier in the Iruso restaurant.

Guided visits to Peru-Harri usually take place every Saturday and Sunday of the year, around 11:30 am. However, due to Iñaki’s various commitments, it is not always possible for him to open the doors of his museum to the public. It is for this reason that it is essential to call to make a reservation. The large spaces that we find inside and outside Gorrittenea, make Peru-Harri can accommodate large groups without any problem. In our case, we were about 50 people, a fact that did not diminish the quality of the visit. On the contrary. The guided tour of Peru-Harri begins inside the baserri Gorrittenea, on the first floor. It is here, where Iñaki makes a small welcome to the visitor. For it, he makes use of a brief video in which he makes a nice review of his career, the herri kirolak and many other aspects related to his person. Very interesting. The visit to this section of the farmhouse ends with a very curious and amusing proposal. Perurena invites us to lift a stone with his advice and help. Who is up for it? Shame on you! After entering Peru-Harri, Iñaki continues the visit outside, on one of the sides of Gorrittenea. It is time to see the catapult. We must confess that we were amazed to see this structure. The first thing we thought was that Iñaki had lost his mind. A rather ignorant thought. When Perurena explained that his technique of lifting the stone shares certain similarities with this type of catapult, it all made sense. It was a practical example of how physics is an essential part of a harrijasotzaile’s life. In the end, it turned out to be one of the most popular attractions. Once again, Iñaki invited the people present to interact during the visit, this time, he invited us to prepare the catapult. A fact that makes the visit to Peru-Harri a dynamic and participative experience. Very enjoyable. Finally, we put the catapult to the test, the result: a stone launched about 100 meters away drawing a very pronounced parabola. Impressive. We leave you a video of the catapult, it has no waste. Brutal.

After the launch, Iñaki explained to us the different spaces that we had yet to see in Peru-Harri: the second and third floors of the farmhouse, the cave, the Basque mythology walk, the sculptures, the dragon for the youngest members of the family…not for lack of attractions. From this point on, Iñaki leaves visitors to their own devices. Of course, although there is time to visit the whole complex, do not dawdle, there are many things to see. After finishing the visit to Peru-Harri, the only thing left to do is to pay and take the mythical photo with Perurena. A nice souvenir to take home.

Gorrittenea, is the main protagonist of Peru-Harri, a 3-storey farmhouse more than 300 years old that Perurena bought in his youth as a work space. The farmhouse has been restored, housing the livestock farm that the Perurena family has owned since 1985 and the Peru-Harri space, the museum that Iñaki and his family created in 2010. If we analyze the name of this farmhouse, Gorrittenea, we see that it contains the suffix -enea, a suffix commonly used in Basque to name houses. We recommend you to read the article of Euskaltzaindia (Royal Academy of the Basque Language) related to this section. And it is that, as they indicate to us, it is possible that the name of this farmhouse responds to the contraction of GorrittirEN etxEAn(Gorritti house), Gorritti – enea, Gorrittenea. But, we repeat, it is more our intuition than anything else. Surely Iñaki knows the origin of the name of the farmhouse, we encourage you to ask him during your guided tour. The landscape surrounding the museum, formed by the forests, fields and mountains of Leitza, invites us to keep our eyes fixed on the horizon. We are in the middle of nature. A paradisiacal place that, thanks to the discovery of a Neolithic axe point, we know has been inhabited since prehistoric times. A discovery that adds extra value to the incredible permanent collection of Peru-Harri. A perfect place to disconnect from the big cities and get to know those small details that make the Basque people great.

The word harrijasotzaile, harri (stone), jaso (to lift), tzaile (suffix denoting the doer of an action), says it all. No explanation is needed. But what we do think is important to point out is the origin of this and the rest of rural sports in the Basque Country. As Iñaki emphasizes during the visit, each and every one of the Basque sports, responds to a trade. Many of them, most of them, were born from the hard work that was done around the farmhouse. Some jobs that took the leap to the public square as entertainment, making the Basques enjoy the spectacle, bet on their favorite and disconnect from the hard days of the time. In this section it is necessary to mention part of the history of stone lifting, and not only in Euskal Herria, but in the world. Already in Greek culture, there are references to stone lifting. In Euskal Herria, it was the stonemasons themselves who turned this profession into a sport when they began to compete among themselves to see who could lift the most stones. Years later, in the 19th century, stone lifting became a regulated sport, putting the rules on the weights and shapes of the stone (cylindrical, cubic, spherical and rectangular parallelepiped). In 1976, Iñaki invented a new technique that revolutionized the sport. This history and progression is visible today in Peru-Harri. Today Inaxio Perurena, one of Iñaki’s sons, follows in the footsteps of his aita (father in Basque) in the field of herri kirolak. It seems that we will enjoy the herrijasotzailes facet of the Perurena family and the Peru-Harri museum for a long time to come. Who knows, maybe in the not too distant future, it will be Inaxio himself who will receive us in Peru-Harri. We know that Euskadi is by no means the only town that has had the tradition of lifting the stone, in the Canary Islands and Ireland this custom has also existed. However, we can say that in Euskal Herria, it is one of the few places where this sport is still alive thanks to people like Iñaki and Inaxio. Eskerrik asko lagunak!

Peru-Harri rates are very reasonable. 4€ adults and 3€ children. Prices with a very good value for money. Especially if we compare them with any other museum we have visited. Symbolic rates. In our case, the fact that a legend of Basque culture as Iñaki Perurena is the guide of this experience, increases the value of it. What do you think? We encourage you to leave us a comment in this article.

The Gorrittenea farmhouse is perfectly signposted. All we have to do is head towards the town of Leitza and from there to Erasote Auzoa (neighborhood in Basque) along the NA-1700 road towards the Uitzi pass. Once at number 4, on the road itself, on the right hand side, there is a sign indicating the detour we must take to reach the Perurena family farmhouse. From this point, a road of certain slope takes us to the stone arch that welcomes us to Peru-Harri. As I said, you can’t miss it.

After the visit, we asked Iñaki about a restaurant where we could eat in Leitza. The answer was simple, Iruso. Iñaki was a good man. This small and coquettish establishment located in Leitzalarrea is run by one of his sons, Xabier Perurena. After a couple of calls to confirm availability, we headed for the restaurant and hostel Iruso, but not before making a small poteo by the town of Leitza. Beautiful by the way. When we arrived at Iruso, we realized that everything was decorated with great taste and attention to detail. Its dining room, with only 4 – 5 tables arranged around a fireplace, was an invitation to enjoy. The menu, the one recommended by Iñaki himself.

Totally recommended. Above all, the cheesecake, brutal. If we have to put a downside, we would do it on the cod omelette, a little dry. For the rest, a menu that bets for the home, for the traditional, a safe bet. The service was another of the great points in favor of the Iruso restaurant. We arrived later than expected, we got lost (in the bars of Leitza, we are unforgivable) and the kitchen was already closed. But Xabier did not hesitate for a moment and reopened it just for us. Great detail. Even when we finished enjoying his creations, he stopped by to say hello and ask about the experience. These small details are the ones that make people come back.

Leitza is well worth a visit. The incredible landscape value that we find in this valley, together with the impressive popular architecture of its urban centers, makes everyone who visits it fall in love with it. A place of the Navarrese Pyrenees in which, in addition to the already known Peru-Harri, we also find an endless number of attractions to enjoy. Here are some examples.

These are just a small representation of the many places that have conquered us during our travels through the Basque Country. There are many more.

Peru-Harri is a different space. There is no doubt about it. A place that contributes to bring the culture and history of Euskal Herria to the people who visit us. A guided tour highly recommended. In this aspect, we have granted our humble accreditation “TurismoVasco Tiketa” to Peru-Harri. A sticker, which tries to distinguish those places that offer authentic experiences around the Basque culture and history. A place that we recommend to visit together with Albaola or Igartubeiti, great representatives of our town.

As you have seen in the section on the guided tour, the videos provide a complementary point of view to the words and photographs in this article. That is why we have uploaded a video with a short summary of our visit to Peru-Harri. If you like this kind of proposals, we recommend you to subscribe to our YouTube channel, we are sure that it will inspire you to find your next destination in Euskal Herria.

Peru-Harri, the museum of the Perurena family, is an atypical museum, different, with a lot of character. A space where the history of our culture is narrated with a lot of passion. Stone lifting is one of the 18 modalities that make up the Basque rural sport. One more piece of the great puzzle that make up each and every one of the elements that make us have our own identity. We finish by thanking Iñaki. It is clear that knowing this sport and everything that surrounds it from the hand of a living legend like Iñaki Perurena, attracts thousands of people to Leitza. A fact that helps our culture and economy. Eskerrik asko Perurenatarrak!