7 Highlights in Navarra, Spain

If you are looking for a Spanish destination off the beaten path, the autonomous Kingdom of Navarra is definitely for you. The region is located in the northeast of the country and borders the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon. The capital and tourist center of Navarra is Pamplona, where the famous annual running of the bulls 'San Fermín' takes place in early July. If you are planning a trip to Pamplona, here are a few travel destinations to consider! You can trust us: Navarra and its great diversity of nature and activities, not to mention the warm people, have captivated us!

In this article, we present to you the most beautiful places and things you can do in and around Pamplona in Navarra - our highlights with useful tips for a short trip.

Pamplona is the capital and largest city of Navarra. You can ideally explore the center of the region on foot and get wonderfully lost in the narrow streets of the old town filled with pintxos bars and small shops. This historic district, through which the bulls run during San Fermín in July, offers several highlights that you should visit; including the town hall with its impressive façade, the Cathedral of Santa María la Real - built in Gothic style and one of the best-preserved cathedrals in Europe - as well as the city walls of Pamplona. Not to forget the Plaza del Castillo in the south of the old town. Locals affectionately refer to it as their living room, where you can sit at one of the many bars and restaurants and enjoy the typical cuisine of Navarra.

In the Pyrenees, everything is beautiful, and according to locals, Ochagavía is one of the most beautiful villages in Spain. Let yourself be guided through the small and sometimes steep streets, cross the stone bridge over the Salazar River, and enjoy the atmosphere. Ochagavía is considered one of the gateways to the Irati Forest, the second largest beech and fir forest in Europe (after the Black Forest in Germany).

Look out for the sign depicting a wolf: The name of the town, which in Basque is Otsagabia (Otsoen habia), means 'Nest of Wolves' (unfortunately, we didn't meet any of those fluffy creatures).

We leave Ochagavía and see more of the Valle de Salazar, the valley in which this beautiful town is located. The Salazar Valley is not only nestled against the Spanish Pyrenees, but also holds the vast Irati Forest (Selva de Irati), one of the largest and best-preserved beech-fir forests in Europe. After driving up through the winding roads and passing mountain villages as well as meadows with cows and horses, we reach the Irati-Abodi Mountain Center (Pikatua area) to undertake an e-mountain bike tour on trails in the Irati forest close to the border with France to the Casas de Irati.

The impressive forest of about 17,000 hectares occupies this valley at the beginning of the Pyrenees. From Casas de Irati, you can hike and mountain bike on various routes and difficulty levels starting from the entrance to the reserve (6 Euro entrance fee). We started at the Irati-Abodi Mountain Center (at about 1,300 m) and initially rode on regular gravel roads and later branched off onto trails that, however, are not suitable for inexperienced mountain bikers.

Thanks to the e-mountain bike, the ups and downs are doable for everyone. Especially impressive are the large birds of prey like the Bearded Vulture, the Peregrine Falcon, or the Golden Eagle, which circle above us. A small Golden Eagle suddenly flies closely across our path - impressive.

The natural semi-desert Bardenas Reales (also known as Badlands) is located in the southeast of Navarra near Tudela. The soils of sandstone, chalk, and clay have been eroded over time by water and wind. This has created extraordinary shapes, canyons, table mountains, and isolated hills (so-called Cabezos). The area is divided into La Blanca Baja and Plana de la Negra.

The nature park has been declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO and showcases a completely different landscape than the mountainous green north of Navarra. In the semi-desert of 42,000 hectares (approximately the size of 50,000 football fields), everything is barren, vegetation is sparse, and many riverbeds and streams are dry for most of the year.

The lunar-like landscape attracts many photographers for shoots and commercials, but also the large film industry from all over the world. Mainly due to the award-winning series 'Game of Thrones' and as the filming location for James Bond's '007 - The World is Not Enough', the place has become world-famous. And when you are there, you quickly realize why many spaghetti westerns were filmed in this landscape in the 1950s (and the video 'Stardust' by, uh, Lena Meyer-Landrut).

Unfortunately, we couldn't get closer to the filming location for 'Game of Thrones', as this corner of Bardenas Reales is not accessible again until fall. This nature park is unique in Europe.

The best way to explore this nature is through a buggy tour with Activa Experience. We took the long tour, including lunch, and you should do that too: Our female guide Stefanie is a trained chef and prepared delicious dishes from local products, including 'Pimentos Rojos Asados' - soft smoky, braised peppers - tangy-sweet artichoke hearts, and crunchy salad leaves with delightful vinaigrette. It doesn't get any better than this. And maybe you'll be charming enough to get the recipes?

Since part of the Bardenas Reales is a military exclusion zone, you cannot leave the marked routes. You could also drive through the natural park with your own car, it does not charge an entrance fee. However, we had a lot of fun with the buggies and were able to learn a lot about the formation, fauna, and nature at several stops.

Eco-tourism in a small town called Arce in the Pyrenees of Navarra. At the treehouse with the goblins, we were able to spend a night in the idyll created by Alicia and Luismi.

For the summer solstice celebration, we picked herbs with neighbors and friends and cooked them to create creams and ointments the next day. We tied bouquets to drive away evil spirits and learned at the communal dinner about old traditions and customs for the summer solstice. At the table with many family friends, we felt warmly welcomed - a fantastic experience that lasted late into the night.

After an extensive breakfast in the treehouse, we went to the family's donkeys and took them for a walk to the next pasture and to the water - total relaxation, far from the hustle and bustle of the city. We thoroughly enjoyed this stay and highly recommend spending at least one night with these wonderful people. It was a delightful experience.

You can book the accommodation directly on their website

'Pinchos', or 'Pintxos' in Basque, are typical regional small bites, usually a slice of baguette with cheese or cold cuts, topped with an olive, anchovy, or pepper - that's it. You might immediately think of 'tapas', but that would do an injustice to these delightful and much more elaborate treats because: Here in Pamplona, they take these very, very seriously. Creative and generously topped, colorful, and sometimes even sizzling - it's a way to showcase the best creations during the annual pincho competitions in town. It would be a shame not to meet up with Bea from Pamplona Food for an extensive pintxos tour.

During our walk through the center, we hopped from bar to bar to try the best creations. With a tasting paired with matching wine, the evening flew by. Not only did we visit the best bars, but we also learned a lot about Pamplona's history (and of course the notorious running of the bulls during 'San Fermin' in July). On the tour, you will visit three bars and receive two pintxos with a drink at each. In Pamplona, this 'pincho-hopping' tradition is called 'Chiquiteo', the act of eating bite-sized pintxos at the bar, with a small wine.

We were more than satisfied and greatly enjoyed the tour and entertainment with Bea. A successful conclusion in Pamplona.

Koldo Vicente Eseberri is a young shepherd and farmer who produces cheese and milk from Latxa sheep on this small, well-kept, and modernized eco-farm.

The 'Latxa' is a breed of domestic sheep that is primarily native to this region of the Spanish Basque Country. After the milking process - in which we also got to participate, but is otherwise carried out by more efficient milking machines - their unpasteurized milk is used to make Idiazábal and Roncal cheese ('Gazta' means 'cheese' in Basque).

We were given a tour of the in-house cheese factory and, of course, got to sample extensively; creamy, spicy - and ultra-fresh! Koldo's brother runs a pig farm and produces chorizos and liver pâtés that pair with the cheese, both want to offer their products together soon.

In addition to sheep, various vegetables are grown here - Koldo and his partner are absolute self-sufficient. This is not uncommon in this ecologically rich area, and we recommend visiting them and, ideally, armed with some Spanish skills, be impressed by this life far from offices and city noise. There isn't a website, so it's best to contact Koldo directly via Instagram.

... but we didn't have time for that. Next time then.

In Navarra, it's definitely worthwhile to visit a vineyard. We had the hard choice: Michelin-starred cuisine or a bodega. Since we managed to grab a spot at El Molino, we didn't have time to visit one of the five wine regions of Navarra (Baja Montaña, Valdizarbe, Tierra Estella, Ribera Alta, and Ribera Baja). The wines produced in Navarra are among the best on the Iberian Peninsula, and during our journey, we were able to sample at least a few - definitely worth trying!

It doesn't always have to be San Sebastián: Besides the above-mentioned local pintxo delicacies, gourmets will also find plenty to enjoy in Navarra. The nature here - directly at the Pyrenees, with forests and not far from the sea - is extremely diverse, leading several top kitchens to focus on regionality. Leading the charge is David Yárnoz, who has been cooking for 18 years at the two-Michelin-starred 'El Molino de Urdaniz,' about a 30-minute drive from Pamplona, at the top of the ratings.

The airy restaurant in a rustic farmhouse with a wonderful view of the open kitchen opens its doors for lunch, during which we were able to indulge in an eight-course journey through the 'best of' the restaurant. You can find Chris' extensive report with all photos here. It's worth it!

The also Michelin-recommended 'Alhambra', located directly in Pamplona, is a bit more affordable. Here, traditional regional dishes are adjusted to 'fine dining', and it works excellently! Additionally, the very fair price of 65 Euros for 5 courses (and 3 greetings from the kitchen) including wine pairing and the very family-friendly service make for an enjoyable evening!

Last year's winner of the 'Best Pintxos in Pamplona' was the bar 'Iruñazarra' in the old town - specifically, its Itsasantxoas brought home the victory. This small boat made from Mexican dough with guacamole and homemade anchovy paste is not only pretty to look at, but tastes outstanding. A salty-creamy morsel that already begs for the next Caña (a small beer) while devouring it.

Here, we have summarized a few travel tips.

Currently, there are no direct flights from Germany to Pamplona. Via Frankfurt and Munich, you can fly with Lufthansa to Bilbao. From Düsseldorf and Stuttgart with Eurowings. The transfer from Bilbao to Pamplona takes 1.5 hours. Therefore, I recommend renting a car.

I always check for flights at Skyscanner for the best connections. For rental cars, my favorite portal is Sunny Cars.

Since Navarra's highlights are never far from Pamplona (always a maximum of 1.5 hours), I recommend renting a car and possibly staying overnight in the regions we recommend. It is truly worth it.

In the middle of Pamplona's center is the Hotel Maisonnave. The rooms are very spacious, there is a large breakfast buffet, and next door at the café belonging to the hotel, you also get the best pintxos and bocadillos (sandwiches) to take away. You can explore all the highlights in Pamplona on foot from the hotel.

Specifically for Navarra, there is no travel guide available. However, with the DuMont Travel Guide Northern Spain (with Camino de Santiago and map to take out), you are well-equipped. Alternatively, there is the Northern Spain guide from Michael Müller Verlag.

Disclaimer: A big thank you to Navarra Tourism for the invitation to the beautiful northern Spain and this wonderful trip - our opinion is, of course, our own.

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