Zugarramurdi, the village of witches.

Zugarramurdi surprises us with its history, museum and caves. A historical corner, which, closely linked to witchcraft and covens, has become a different, magical holiday destination.

 

Zugarramurdi is one of the best known villages in the Navarre Pyrenees. In this case, the sorginak, the witches, are largely to blame. And it was they who, persecuted by the holy faith, the Inquisition, tried to follow their own ideas and convictions, thus leaving the established by the church and the political power. These events marked Zugarramurdi forever. This village located near the muga (border in Basque) between Iparralde (French Basque Country) and Navarre, is one of the most demanded places by the people who visit Navarre. A place, that preceded by its history and located in the region of the Baztan, encourages us to cross all the attractions that it has. A route that, starting with its urban center, following by the museum of the witches and ending in the famous caves of Zugarramurdi, offers us a complete and familiar plan. An adventure as enlightening as it is surprising. Ready for your own Akelarre?

Zugarramurdi sits on a hillside, a rural area, where we find a series of stone houses, which, gathered together with the church of the town, form the small town of Zugarramurdi. An enchanted space, in which the akelarres and witches were once the great protagonists. Surrounded by an environment of great natural value, between large forests and green fields, Zugarramurdi follows the line of the rest of the villages of the Baztan Valley and the Xareta Valley. Locations in which cows, horses, farmhouses and nature, make this a magical landscape. A typical picture of the western Navarrese Pyrenees.

The village of Zugarramurdi, together with the museum of the witches and the caves of the same name, form a complete plan to spend the day. 3 historical attractions, which are located in a straight line of less than 1 kilometer. A 3 in 1 in all rule. By the way, we recommend you not to alter the order, remember, village, museum and caves. That is the logical order to follow. Enjoy the picture of Zugarramurdi, learn about its history through the museum of the witches and tour the space where most of these events took place. The Witches of Zugarramurdi, a film that was awarded 8 goyas in 2014, has made this space known on the big screen. Of course, do not expect a historical recreation, it is a film by Alex de la Iglesia. A mixture of horror and comedy Spanish style. In our case, it did not convince us, but to each his own.

When entering Zugarramurdi, the different tourist areas make us reflect on what happened in this village in Navarre. These are not legends, they are not stories to forget. And the fact is that everything we have read and seen during our stay in these lands, has helped us to understand how bad it was for the inhabitants of Zugarramurdi more than 400 years ago. Especially the women. Once again, the lack of freedom of expression and beliefs of that time led to a dark period for the people of Zugarramurdi.

In this article, we want to show you what to see and do in Zugarramurdi. Some recommendations, to which we will add the secrets that are hidden behind this fusion of fantasy and reality that has turned this town into a legend. What is real about everything that is told about Zugarramurdi? To what extent did these facts affect Zugarramurdi? Pay attention because it does not have any waste.

 

 

Witches have always roamed freely throughout the Basque Country. A fact that, together with the inner magic of our land, has given rise to legends and tales of all kinds. But in this village of the western Pyrenees, the stories are much more real than many believe. The Auto de Fe of 1610, marked Zugarramurdi forever. The accusations of witchcraft among the residents of this town made the inquisitor Valle-Alvarado put his attention on this place. A fact, which resulted in more than 40 neighbors judged, of which 11 died at the stake. Different panels of the museum of the witches and the caves honor their memory.

 

Location: The village of Zugarramurdi is located on the administrative border between Navarre and Aquitaine. A fact that has not prevented the Basque-speaking villages on both sides from joining forces through the Xareta association. A group, which, created in 2004, includes the 4 villages that we find in the valley of the same name. On both sides of the muga. Ainhoa, Sara in Aquitaine and Urdazubi-Urdax and Zugarramurdi in Navarre. These villages, which have always shared history, culture and language, have come together to promote a legacy built up over centuries. Among the experiences they offer we highlight “pottokaren bidea”, known as the blue horse trail in Spanish, a historical and circular route, which connects the 4 villages mentioned above through forests and meadows.

After the declaration of war between Spain and France, the inhabitants of Lapurdi were considered spies in the service of the Spanish state. That is why thousands of them left their lands to return at the end of the war. An aspect that only helped to unite even more the ties with the inhabitants of Navarre. Nowadays, we can find entire families scattered throughout Lapurdi and Navarre, in the four villages mentioned above. The Dantxarinea pass, located in Urdazubi – Urdax, has achieved great fame among all the people located in the south of France. Once one of the best known smuggling points, it has become one of the most important commercial areas in the area. The quality of the typical products, the variety of them and above all the price, has created an incredible appeal to all those who live in the vicinity. Did you know that Xareta means wooded land? Nature in its purest form. The Xareta Valley is one of those places that shines with its own light. And no wonder, this land dotted with small Pyrenean villages where the paths of pilgrims and smugglers merge, offers alternatives of all kinds to enjoy several days of cross-border experiences.

Smuggling: Zugarramurdi and its caves were not only the scene of covens. Its border location gave rise to smuggling. A trade, for which the caves proved to be indispensable. And it is here, in the caves of Zugarramurdi, Sara or Urdazubi – Urdax, where they hid all the products with which they crossed the border. The route of the blue horse, the route we mentioned in the section on the Xareta Valley, is also known as the route of the smugglers, and this famous route runs along the old paths that were used for cross-border smuggling. Although this route has a total duration of 12 hours, the tourist office recommends taking the Zugarramurdi cave as the starting point and the village of Urdazubi / Urdax as the end point, thus covering part of the original route for approximately 3 hours.

 

History of Zugarramurdi: The legends that we hear continuously about Zugarramurdi, have as a base a series of historical events that we can catalogue from the year 1608. However, it is advisable to know all its history to be able to contemplate Zugarramurdi from a global point of view.

The most curious thing about the history of Zugarramurdi is that the witches and warlocks admitted to all their neighbors the akelarres and other acts of witchcraft performed, being forgiven by all their neighbors. But when this story seemed to be over, once the society had finished the problems, the church, taking the Holy Inquisition as a tool, decided to enter Zugarramurdi creating terror even among people who did not practice witchcraft. False testimonies and evidence were decisive to judge people who lived peacefully in these villages of Xareta. The church condemned them.

 

Village of Zugarramurdi: This village of less than 300 inhabitants, is one of the great jewels of the Pyrenean Navarre. A place where we recommend starting our visit to this historic place. The village does not have large dimensions, it is easily crossed on foot. The most striking streets, Lapiztegia and Beitikokarrika (street below in Basque), invite us to stroll around, finding emblematic spaces of the town such as the church or the town hall. We should mention that many of the buildings of this town were destroyed during the war of independence by the French army, so they had to be rebuilt during the nineteenth century.

 

Zikiro-jatea: In the Valley of Baztan and the Valley of Xareta is traditionally the zikiro-jatea, a very special way of eating roast lamb, a product that, carved on hazelnut sticks, brings together the whole village around the embers. An emblematic day, coinciding with the end of the festivities (August 18), offers a menu based on piperrada, salda (broth), zikiro and cheese for dessert at an approximate price of about 35 €. Under the protection of the caves of Zugarramurdi, in the presence of the witches, more than 500 kilos of lamb are roasted to satisfy the hunger of all the people who dare to know this tradition. A festival, in which the whole town participates and that annually attracts a great multitude of travelers from all over the world.

 

Museum of the witches of Zugarramurdi: The building in which we find the current museum, housed in the past the old hospital of the municipality. This is what the small plaque on the façade tells us. A reconversion, with which the Zugarramurditarras try to make known what happened in their environment in the early seventeenth century. This museum inaugurated in 2007, not only wants to make known the reality of another era, also seeks to pay a heartfelt tribute to the women, men and children, who were accused of improbable facts by a religious institution that had the need to make clear the power of its tentacles.

In our opinion, the fusion of the visits to the museum and the caves is essential to understand the whole history of this urban center. In addition, we have to mention that with the museum ticket we get a small discount (1 €) on the entrance to the caves (and vice versa). The museum of witches, invites us to learn about the theme of witchcraft through the various audiovisuals, panels and objects that are spread over its 4 floors. But this museum not only deals with the theme of witchcraft, in fact, we dare say that it is much more than the museum of witches. Currently, in addition to the aforementioned theme, the museum addresses issues such as seventeenth-century Navarre society, Basque mythology or different reflections on the planet earth. Nature, history and culture. Although the main theme of this museum arises around the process that the Inquisition carried out in Zugarramurdi in 1610, it expands reaching the most diverse topics. But let’s not get sidetracked. The visit tells us how a young girl from this town claimed that several neighbors had participated in akelarres, disturbing the traditional tranquility of this cross-border town. Although this matter was settled thanks to the forgiveness of the parish priest of the village and the rest of the neighbors, the warning to the Inquisition by the abbot of Urdax changed the history of Zugarramurdi forever. The Inquisition accused more than 50 people from the Xareta and Baztan Valleys of witchcraft. Not all of them were from Zugarramurdi, but the great trauma created in the heart of the society of this town was such that it is remembered as one of the most important historical events in Europe. These people were taken to Logroño, where they were tried. Only 21 of them were pardoned, the rest were accused and condemned. Of all of them, 11 were condemned to burn at the stake, making November 7, 1610 go down in history as one of the saddest days of Zugarramurdi. Over time, reality has mutated into legend, the fusion of the real and the unreal has surpassed history. But thanks to research carried out by experts such as Aita Barandiaran, we are still able to separate mythology from those people who, using nature as a tool, practiced folk medicine.

 

Caves of Zugarramurdi: Forget about the caves you have visited during your last trips around the world. The caves that we show you today do not have stalactites, stalagmites or icicles, they do not have cave paintings and no great archaeological discoveries have been found. However, they hold many more stories than we can imagine. Smugglers, witches and covens have turned the caves of Zugarramurdi into a magical, unique space. This great karst complex, leaves on the surface several caves in which to enter. Located 5 minutes walk from the city center, between woods and mountains, on the old road that linked Zugarramurdi and Sara, we find the entrance to one of the most famous pagan spaces in history.

Each of the caves found in the vicinity has its own name, sorgin leze, akelarre leze … cavities, which, molded by the force of water and wind draw a beautiful landscape in the vicinity of this village of Euskal Herria. Even today, we find a watercourse that crosses these caves, a river named infernuko erreka (river of hell), which shares the 120 meters of length that reaches the main cave. This space was presented by the Inquisition as proof of witchcraft crimes, pointing out the pagan festivities that were celebrated in it as a ritual of devil worship. The visit to the caves is free, self-guided. One aspect, for which we recommend to rely on both the map that we give us with the entrance as in the different panels that we find on our way. You can’t get lost. Among all the spaces we visited, we would like to emphasize the viewpoint of the caves, a space that gives us a nice view of the village.

 

What to see near Zugarramurdi: Although this village in the Navarrese Pyrenees has much to offer to all visitors, its environment invites anyone who wishes to go inside to show the wildest side of northern Navarre. Here is a nice list of places that you can not miss during your trip to Zugarramurdi.

 

Where to eat near Zugarramurdi: Although in the center of the village we find several alternatives, our recommendation is to continue enjoying the charms that this earthly paradise gives us. In our case, after enjoying a nice morning visiting the village, the museum and the caves, we went to Etxebertzeko Borda, the restaurant of Infernuko errota (mill of hell in Basque). A traditional establishment where we enjoyed a menu with a good quality-price ratio. On the other hand, if this option does not appeal to you, we recommend you to taste the talos del molino de Amaiur, a succulent dish that finds in this Navarrese town several of its best allies, Isa and Felipe.

 

Videos of Zugarramurdi: We recommend that you subscribe to our YouTube channel to enjoy videos about our adventures throughout the Basque Country. Among all the videos we have, we highlight 3 about Zugarramurdi, we hope they will help you during your trip and complement the words and images in this article. If you have any questions, we recommend that you leave us a comment both on our channel and on our website.

These recommendations on what to see and do in Zugarramurdi are just a small representation of the spaces that this incredible village of Navarre has to offer. In case you want to make the most of your stay in this land, we recommend you to visit the tourist office, at the reception of the Witches’ Museum. We are sure that they will assist you to the thousand wonders, offering you incredible experiences in Zugarramurdi, Baztan Bidasoa or Iparralde. Ondo pasa!