Hiking to the Geo Park near San Sebastián
Visiting the Basque Coast Geo Park
A walk to beautiful coastal rock formations…..
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I love rocks. There’s such a variety to them and every variety is a keeper of the story of our Earth. In some ways we could say they are analogous to….us. Some rocks break easily, some are so tough that they can be carved by glacial ice for thousands of years, yet they do not crumble. Some stand on overwatch like El Capitan in Yosemite, while others are subject to the tides and become trillions of pieces of sand, important all the same. They, like us, were forged under different pressures and circumstances and as you’ll read in this article, some end up a long way from their point of origin.
I don’t know if I can classify this as a hike because to me, hiking involves some sort of quasi-strenuous terrain. I would instead say that the Basque Coast Geo Park is a fantastic place to go for a walk-about along the rugged coastline near San Sebastián. It is a UNESCO world geo site and very unique!
I had no idea what to expect or where we were going because there was a bit of a language barrier between our friend, Jaimé and us. He kept saying “we go to see the Fleets” which meant nothing to me because I had no clue what he was talking about but I did know that we were out in nature on a beautiful September day so I was game for whatever our host wanted to share with us.
What are flysch , you ask? Well.. it is a series of rock formations that is characterized by limestone rocks that date back to the Early Cretaceous Period, 60 million years ago and they are a great example of erosion effecting rocks in interesting ways. I’ll tell you more about them as we hike along the trail..
WE STARTED THE TRAIL at the section of the Geo Park know as the SAKONETA-PORTUTXIKI. You begin at the Errotaberri car park, next to the picnic area and restaurant, or from the GR 121 footpath. You can find it on Google Maps, HERE.
To get there by car, from Deba (Itziar), on the N-634, take the road to the neighborhood of Itxaspe as far as the campsite of the same name.
There are a few places where you can start walking this trail and it spans the municipalities of Deba, Mutriku and Zumaia, on the Cantabrian Sea. In total, the geo-park stretches along 8 miles of coastline. At the end of this article, I will share a fantastic site that has a guided pdf for you to view in case you want to walk the whole trail or need more detailed information for this particular route.
Trail marker
Parking area at the trail head
The beginning of the trail
We head out along a beautifully forested area with oak trees , ferns and thistle. Everything is an abundance of green and there are cattle and sheep grazing in their pastures alongside the trail as you wind your way through the rolling hills. I still had no idea where we were headed but it was a beautiful walk!
At some point our young friend who was with us picked up dried cow patty and launched at at Jaimé and a hilarious cow dooky war ensued between the two of them. A good reminder to never stop being young at heart (and to bring hand wipes with you LOL).
The trail continues on through the gorgeous countryside and alongside a few working, yet small scale farms. This trail is very easy to walk and as you emerge from this lush landscape, you reach the cliffs of the Basque coastline where the sound of the waves consumes your senses and the hiss of the receding tide dissipates just as the next round of thundering waves returns….nature’s rhythm keeper.
Situated on top of the cliff is a viewing platform with signage in Basque, Spanish and in English (and perhaps a few other languages but I can’t recall). The view is quite expansive but the real magic is down below so continue on down to the beach from here!
Once you reach the beach
You will land on a field of scree and to your left is where you will find what you hiked out here to see… the Flysch! This area is situated on a fault line and the rocks have eroded in such a way that they appear in layers (hmmm. another analogy for humans!).
Don’t forget to check the tides before you go!
Low tide is obviously the best time to visit the Geo Park so that the multitudinal rock strata are viewable. There is something spectacular about seeing the ocean meet these rocks and if you learn the history before you go, you’ll have a deeper appreciation.
For example, there is a layer of dark ash on these formations that is believed to be from an asteroid that struck the Yucatan Peninsula, perhaps the very same one that caused the dinosaurs to become extinct! I find this interesting because the Yucatan is in Mexico and here we are in Spain… a sister country!
This site is a great place to visit if you want to see some of the Earth’s history as the tides lull you into relaxation. I would perhaps pack a picnic if I were to visit again.
Without a doubt, the best resource for visiting the Geo Park can be found HERE and this route specific pdf pocket guide from their website. They have gone above and beyond to give you a very thorough guide with photos, trail markers and information. The website includes a separate pdf for each route you can take!
A secondary resource with great information can be found here.
If you have visited this Geo Park, drop a comment below! I want to hear about your day hiking along the Basque coastline!
