Following in the footsteps of Saint Ignacio of Loiola, we take the path from Loiola to Arantzazu via the Hermitage of la Antigua, sticking to the GR-120 track known as the Route of the Three Temples. This route runs through beautiful parts of the counties of Urola Costa, Goierri and Debagoiena, connecting their three most important monuments; the Sanctuary of Loiola in Azpeitia, the Hermitage of La Antigua in Zumarraga and the Sanctuary of Arantzazu, located inthe Natural Park of Aizkorri-Aratz. These three buildings which are set in places of singular natural beauty, are representative of three very different artistic and architectural styles. To the variety and pleasantness of the landscape and its unquestionable historic, artistic and cultural value, we can add its indisputable spiritual and emotional worth.
The two ends of the Route of the Three Temples are linked by the pilgrim Saint Ignacio of Loiola. His interior crusade towards God had already begun when he embarked on a pilgrimage to Monserrat, starting from Loiola one day in the year 1522. When he reached Arantzazu he spent the night wide awake in the heart of its church which touched his soul. He told of his vivid experience at the feet of the Mother of God of Arantzazu in a letter written from Rome to Saint Francis of Borja.