Route 5
Route published by Pedro Pablo Uriarte ”19 circular walking routes around Gorliz”
*Map of the route: Pending*
DETAILS OF THE ROUTE:
Distance: 10 km
Duration: Between 2 and 3 hours (if you have children with you)
Difficulty: Easy
This is a very simple route, practically a long walk that requires no major effort, very suitable for children as, although there are stretches of road, it is very seldom used.
The first part of the route follows the road to the lighthouse to the turn-off to the fields and pastures of the provincial council-owned farm, which we have already mentioned in route 4, but it seems a good idea to summarise this part of the route again.
Start the route at Plaza Ibarreta, cross Itsasbide Kalea and walk down to the beach along Calle Eloisa Artaza and Hondartza Ibiltokia, passing the exhibition hall, the Ondargane restaurant and the children’s playground. When you reach the beach promenade, called Gorlizko Badia Ibiltokia, turn right past the Hospital and you will soon reach Astondo beach.
Turn right at the lifeguard station and the road to the lighthouse will start almost immediately on the left. Take this road and, although it is flat at first, at the entrance to the provincial council farm facilities the road becomes a little steeper and after two or three bends it reaches a fence on the right, which you climb over using a rudimentary set of steps to the right of the fence. Before reaching the fence where you have to turn off, you may be able to see a deer grazing peacefully or lying under a pine tree on your left.
Once you are over the fence, the grassy and practically flat path leads you to another fence, which you have to climb over on the right. Although we have already mentioned it in another route, we recommend not venturing along this path if you see a herd of cows with their calves nearby. They should not be disturbed. If that is the case, we recommend a detour around the lighthouse, even if it is a more demanding walk.
Once you are over the second fence, the path will almost immediately take you to the start of the ascent to Legorrariburu on your left (see route 4), which we ignore and keep going straight ahead.
The path is quite clear, and, after a few minutes of gentle walking, you will see another clear path on your left that heads towards the farmhouses of Fano. We reach the pastures with the Fano flock of sheep at the point where there is also an enclosure on your left where a few Pottok ponies (a local breed of horses of small stature) usually graze.
To your right you will see the four or five farmhouses that make up the hamlet of Fano. To reach them, you will have to go up through the fields a little further until you see a wire fence on your right and a path that leads to the farmhouses. In one of them, Mrs. Casiana still makes delicious fresh sheep’s milk cheeses in season. It is a real treat.
You will come to a closed gate right next to the farmhouses, which you open and which you must always make sure you close again. Keep going straight ahead and the road begins, i.e., Fanobidea. After about two kilometres on this road, which has hardly any traffic, you will come straight to the hamlet of Orabille.
At first the road runs under the trees, but just as the path leading to the summit of Ermua starts on your left, you come out onto open ground. To your right there are vegetable gardens which are rented out to private individuals and to your left a beautifully renovated two-storey house with a large amount of land and well-kept fields at the front and back.
The road turns to the left just where the paved track that we mentioned in previous routes starts on your right and goes down to Urezarantza and, straight ahead, under two small holm oaks, the somewhat rough and broken path starts that will take you to Haurreaskola and Entrepinos, which we climbed on route 1. This is the old way up Ermua.
You will continue along the road, which almost immediately leads into a forest of large holm oaks, which you will leave shortly after. The walk along the road is pleasant and trouble-free. On your right you will see an enclosure with a house under the trees that should have great views of Gorliz and the bay.
After a while, you will come to another open bend to the right where you will see a closed gate on your left. This is the area known as “Tiro Zalaia” or shooting range, and a track leads from here to Sanjuanagiri, very close to the summit of Ermua. Of course, this is a track we are not allowed to access.
Carry on along the road and, on your right, you will see a magnificent panorama, with Gorliz and its bay below you. In a few minutes you will come to the first farmhouses and chalets in the Orabille neighbourhood, and in a few hundred metres you will pass between two walls and reach the main BI-3151 Gorliz-Armintza road.
Cross this road with great care to the other side. Here it is essential that you hold your children by the hand, as the crossing has poor visibility and the cars coming from both Armintza and Gorliz do so after a bend and a change of gradient, and they will be on top of you almost without you noticing.
On the other side, the road steepens for a few hundred metres, but soon flattens out and, in a few minutes, you will reach the district of Berreaga and the junction with the road that leads to Urizar (Lemoiz), along which you will go on your outward and return journeys on several routes, as you have already seen on Route 3.
Carry straight on past the Larrakoetxea Restaurant and Country House, which you go past, entering the territory of the town of Lemoiz. Follow this road for a while. You will walk past the entrances to a couple two chalets on your right, which are screened from view by tall hedges. The road starts to climb a little until it reaches the entrance to the Goiko Mendi Equestrian Club, although you will not go that far, as you will turn off before it to go down to Saratxaga.
In fact, the road enters a eucalyptus grove and, if you look carefully, in the middle of it, there is a clearly visible path to the right. This path goes downhill under the eucalyptus trees and in about five minutes leads to a track that comes from Saratxaga.
If you turn left, you will reach the main Gorliz-Mungia road in a few hundred metres, but this is of no interest to you. What you are interested in is to carry straight on along a wide track that descends steeply downhill and passes two chalets on your left.
You will come to a paved track that will continue descending and pass a chalet with some well-tended vineyards next to the road. You immediately come to another track or small road and turn sharply to the right onto a flat track under the trees. If you follow it, in less than a kilometre you will reach the Saratxaga road, which ends at the bar/restaurant of the same name, which is currently closed. And that is where you are heading to, to the bar/restaurant. Before that, walk for a while under the trees, until you come a large new house where the path turns to the left. Follow the lane and, in a few minutes, you will be in Saratxaga.
To return to the centre of Gorliz, just cross the road and, next to a chalet, there is a beautiful path under the holm oaks that will take you to the upper part of Calle Ageo and then down to Tribiñu Kalea. Turn left and you will reach the roundabout with the boat and Plaza Ibarreta.
You have come full circle on a walk that does not require great effort and that can be done by almost anyone of any age but, of course, particularly those who are used to walking and hiking for a certain length of time.
