IN THE HEART OF THE COUNTRY

 

     Camping Zubizabala is right next to two of the Basque Country’s most important natural parks, Urkiola and Gorbeia.

     Set in some superb countryside, the range of activities available in the nearby mountains, woods, reservoirs and caves make the camp-site the ideal place for nature lovers.

 

urkiola nature PARk:

     The Basque Country’s first official nature park offers some spectacular mountain country, which accounts for the area being called the “Alps of Bizkaia”. The area’s many attractions include:

  • The majestic griffon vulture: one of the bird’s most northerly nesting colonies anywhere in the world.

 

  • Magnificent, dense woods and abrupt countryside, which served as inspiration for much of Basque mythology. Legends like the Lady of Anboto are set in what are now the furthest reaches of the park.

 

  • Balzola and Gentilzubi caves, marked by the karst terrain typical of the area.

 

 

  • The Atxarte climbing school, one of the first of its kind in the Basque Country.

 

Gorbeia nature PARk:

      The highest peak in Bizkaia and Alava, by the Cross of Gorbeia (the symbol for mountain-walkers and climbers in the area) offers unbeatable views of the stunning countryside to be found in the region’s biggest natural park. Among other attractions, there are:

 

  • Groups of deer-listen to the stags bellow and watch them fight in October.

 

  • Century-old deciduous oak and beech woods, where some ancient practices like charcoal-making, lime extraction and chestnut and beechnut collecting are kept alive today.

  • Shepherds and their traditional culture. The Arratia valley is one of the few places left where the old grazing traditions still survive.

 

  • Itxina, certainly one of the Basque Country’s most significant karstic rock formations. The area is particularly famed for its caves and rock formations, including Las Atxak or the Ojo de Atxular.

 

the zadorra reservoirs:

     The remarkable number and variety of water birds wintering in the Zadorra reservoirs make the area one of the most important of its kind in Europe.  

 

    Zubizabala campsite boasts a wide range of mature trees that add to the site’s superbly wooded setting. We are particularly proud of several species of oak, such as Quercus palustris and Quercus errata, that are unique in the Basque Country. Not to mention, of course, the mature fir woods, or the near century-old lime trees and Lawson cypresses.