nature
Natural Park
Not far from the seaside town of Zarautz, Mount Pagoeta stands amid a landscape of rural fields and farmhouses overlooking the localities of Aia and Laurgain (Gipuzkoa).
Pagoeta Natural Park is both recreational and educational. In fact, the park has a nature study school and a visitors’ centre housed in a magnificent 15th century farmhouse known as Iturraran. The ethnographic exhibition on life in Basque farmhouses is well worth a visit as is the large botanical garden surrounding the centre.
Other attractions in the park include the Agorregi forge which dates back to the beginning of the 15th century and the “elurzuloak”, traditional underground cooler chambers used to conserve food in times gone by.
For those with a particular interest in history, there are also some important prehistoric ruins in the park: dolmens (Otagain, Olarteta, Zaingo), burial mounds (Muzin, Arreta) and prehistoric cave sites (Erratia and Amalda in the Alzoralas valley).
Herds of native breeds of animals such as the Betizu cow or the Pottoka miniature pony are also one of the area’s popular attractions.
