The best MTB trails around Garralda

Reaching Roncesvalles meant the luxury of sleeping in a real bed at the famous pilgrim hostel (albergue de peregrinos). Marking the end of the legendary first stage of the Camino Francés from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port into Spain, this impressive, well-organized facility is wonderfully run by Dutch volunteers. Since there is no grocery store in Roncesvalles itself, a necessary 5 km round-trip walk was required to stock up, loading down my backpack with enough supplies for 5 breakfasts, 7 lunches, and 5 dinners for the demanding days ahead.

At the foot of the Pyrenees on the Spanish side of the border, Roncesvalles is one of the most iconic and historic stops on the entire Camino de Santiago. Famous for its magnificent 13th-century Royal Colegiata of Saint Mary, this small hamlet has welcomed weary pilgrims and hikers for centuries after their demanding trek over the mountain pass from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. Beyond its rich medieval history and legendary link to the Song of Roland, Roncesvalles offers essential comforts for travelers today, including pilgrim hostels, warm meals, and a deeply atmospheric sanctuary where you can rest, reflect, and prepare for the road ahead.

Orreaga-Roncesvalles preserves the memory of heroic songs, ancient paths, and exhausted pilgrims on the way to Compostela. Kings who built hospitals, churches, monasteries, and chapels, innkeepers for whom welcoming strangers was and is sacred, and the love for their Holy Virgin, their brotherhood, and their pilgrims and their many crosses. Since the 10th century, Roncesvalles has been a place where pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago to Santiago de Compostela can rest after their arduous ascent. Santa María de Roncesvalles is above all a place for spirituality and pilgrimage. Pilgrim masses, pilgrimages, Brotherhood of Nuestra Señora. At the 1057m high Puerto Roncesvalles pass, Augustinians founded the Colegiata de Roncesvalles abbey in 1130. As early as 778, a battle took place here between the Franks under Charlemagne and the Basques. The warrior Roland was killed, and the Song of Roland was created.

In choosing San Salvador as the patron saint of this church, the patronage was not placed under the protection of one of the many people we venerate as blessed or saints and ask for their heavenly intercession with God. Rather, the patronage was entrusted to God himself—in the person of his incarnate Son, Jesus Christ—who is venerated here under the honorary title of "San Salvador" (Redeemer and Savior).

Even if you don't plan or have the ability to walk the entire Camino Frances, the stage that reaches Roncesvalles is a must for the beauty of the landscapes and the evocative atmosphere it offers, especially when—descending from the Ibañeta Pass—the boundless Spanish landscape suddenly opens up before your eyes in the golden light of sunset. It's a magical moment, ideally shared with other pilgrims and then enhanced with a visit to the Collegiate Church. The stamp on the Credencial is also beautiful.

Don't miss a visit to the Pilgrims' Hospital and the Collegiate Church of Santa María. Also, learn about the history of Roncesvalles, as it's very interesting.

The ATALOZTI Pass is located in the heart of the Navarrese Pyrenees, where the Navarre Mountains meet, on the border between Navarre and Lower Navarre, between the municipalities of Auritz-Burguete, Erroibar, and Urepel—the former disappearing into the Sangüesa Sea and the latter into the Baigorri-Ortzaize region—and also on the watershed, where the vortex streams meet at the Irati River beach, the Mediterranean Sea beach, and the northern banks of the Errobi River, the Bizkaia countryside, meeting the Atlantic. The Atalozti Pass is situated in a charming location, between the peaks of Lindus (1,218 m) and Mendiaundi (1,213 m). The climb from Burguete along a track has extremely steep slopes.

Anyone who would like to have the church illuminated can switch on the lights for 8 minutes for a 1 € coin.