Information about stage 6 through Somport: Stage from Monreal to Puente la Reina-Gares
| STAGE 6 for support |
KM 31.1 |
TIME 07:30 a.m. |
Itinerary
Notice : THERE IS NO LONGER A PILGRIM SHELTER next to the hermitage of Santa María de Eunate.
- Km 0. Monreal (Shelter. Bar. Shop. Pharmacy. ATM)
From the Monreal hostel, we head out through the alley and, after the church, we turn left onto Calle del Burgo to leave the town. Once in the open field we advance straight. The A-21 motorway is on our right and the cereal fields, the gallery forest of the Elorz river and La Higa , watching us from its 1288 meters, on our left. The path seeks the fertile banks of the river and, after following its course for a kilometer, it crosses it and turns left along a track (Km 2.2) . Soon, the track becomes a path that clings to the slopes of the Sierra de Alaiz . The path leads next to Yárnoz .
- km 4.3. Yárnoz
The last kilometer traveled is a preview of what comes next. The path fits as best it can to the changing orography of the sierra. Also, as soon as it opens into the valley as it enters the Mediterranean forest. In this way we passed next to Otano .
- km 5.8. otano
Half an hour later we arrive at the unpopulated area of Ezperun (Km 7.5) , where the only thing visible is the exploitation of a quarry and the Navarra canal , a hydraulic infrastructure that distributes regulated water from the Itoiz reservoir throughout the province. On a steep slope, we continue along a paved track that passes under the quarry and we descend along a beautiful sheltered path that takes us to the entrance of Guerendiáin .
- km 9.4. guerendiáin
Leaving this town, with its monumental houses adorned with geraniums and decorated with multiple Jacobean references, we say goodbye to the Elorz Valley . A long ‘leg-breaking’ and technical section leads us to Tiebas and its ruined castle from the 13th century.
- km 13.2. Tiebas (Hostels. Bar. Bakery)
We cross the town, leaving aside the church of Santa Eufemia . After the soccer field, we take a path that runs parallel to the fence that delimits the AP-15 motorway. When we reach a connecting roundabout, we cross a tunnel under the motorway to later avoid the N-121 road. Later, through another small tunnel, this time under the train tracks, we arrive at Muruarte de Reta .
- km 17.3. Muruarte de Reta
Pay attention to the signs, because before reaching the first houses you have to turn left along the paved road. Following this local road we arrive at Olcoz and with it the Valdizarbe region . As an interest, a resident of Olcoz offers guided visits to the lineage tower , rehabilitated in 2012. It has four floors and dates from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Inside is the permanent exhibition ‘Eunate-Olcoz: Keys to the Camino de Santiago. The Navarrese treasure of the first Renaissance of the 12th century’ .
- km 18.6. Olcoz (Bar)
At the entrance to the town we continue to the right to shortly take a path that descends a hill and from which we get good views of the region and the Navarra canal. Following a small paved section and a track later we arrive at Enériz , a good place also to please a parched throat and an empty stomach.
- km 23.2. Enériz (Bar. Shop. Pharmacy)
We continue along the track until a milestone forces us to turn right between the bushes. A good stratagem to stoke the suspense, since behind the gallery the silhouette of Santa María de Eunate is discovered. Romanesque hermitage, with an octagonal plan and surrounded by an archway, whose originality has earned it a good reputation on the Camino de Santiago. The hostel attached to the hermitage left its hospital function in autumn 2012 and since 2013 the house has hosted activities of the Muruzábal parish group (Km 26) . One kilometer from Eunate we cross the road to go up to Obanos. In the Plaza de los Fueros of this town, next to the church of San Juan Bautista , our itinerary merges with that of the pilgrims who left, for the most part, from San Jean Pied de Port or Roncesvalles.
- km 28.3. Obanos (Hostel. Bar. Shop. Pharmacy. ATM)
After a line of pilgrims much larger than usual, we left Obanos and went down to the road, which we crossed to take a path parallel to the Robo river. . Shortly we reach the shoulder of the N-111 and the entrance to Puente la Reina . The 31.1 km of this hard stage are covered in the center of the town.
- km 31.1. Puente la Reina (All Services)
Difficulties
- Hard section between Monreal and Tiebas: The first 13 kilometers of the stage are a continuous up and down the slopes of the Sierra de Alaiz . During this first section we will find sources in Yárnoz , Otano and Guerendiáin and a bar-restaurant and a couple of hostels in Tiebas .
- From Tiebas there is a restaurant service in Olcoz, Eneriz, Obanos and Puente la Reina with all services.
Observations
The two “jewels” of today’s stage are the Romanesque hermitage of Santa Maria de Eunate and the Romanesque bridge over the Arga river in Puente la Reina . Between Eunate and Puente la Reina there is a signposted detour to go directly to the latter town without going through Obanos . only about 200 meters are saved, but it is more pleasant. One kilometer after Eunate we arrive at the junction of the N-6064, the official path crosses said road, but we continue along the shoulder of it for a kilometer and a half where we take a signposted path on the left, we cross the Robo river over a bridge and after another kilometer and a half we turn right to enter Puente la Reina at the height of the hostel of the Padres Reparadores. In the town of Obanos the French and Aragonese roads meet, there is a monument in the shape of a pilgrim before entering Puente la Reina with the following inscription, “And from here all the Roads to Santiago become one” .
What to see, what to do
- ELORZ VALLEY: The last stage covers the domains of the Elorz valley, bathed by the river of the same name and cradled to the south by the Alaiz mountain range . The town council resides in Noáin but the Camino de Santiago passes through other towns in the valley, such as Yárnoz , Otano , Ezperun and Guerendiáin .
- YÁRNOZ:
- Medieval tower: To the right of the Path, it is the only vestige of a probable medieval palace from the 14th or 15th centuries. Its owner was Martín de Yárnoz, squire of the King of Navarra, Carlos III the Noble (1387-1425).
- OTANO: As with Yárnoz , the route leaves the town of Otano on the right.
- Church of the Assumption: Enlarged in the 16th century, it still preserves original elements from previous centuries, such as a splayed window in the presbytery, a baptismal font and a carving of the Virgin from the 14th century.
- GUERENDIÁIN: Located at 590 meters, it is the highest town in the Elorz valley . Well-cared and decorated town with multiple Jacobean references.
- Church of San Juan Bautista: With a single nave divided into three sections and a barrel vault. It has a Baroque altarpiece from the 18th century.
- TIEBAS-MURUARTE DE RETA: Although it belonged to the Elorz valley, today it is a municipality in the Pamplona region . It has two councils, one formed by the towns of Tiebas and Campanas and the other by Muruarte de Reta , the next town through the Camino de Santiago.
- Tiebas Castle: At the entrance to Tiebas you can see the ruins of this 13th century fortress, one of the residences of the Navarrese kings Teobaldo II (1253-1270), Enrique I (1270-1274) and Carlos II (1350- 1387). Destroyed in 1378, it was abandoned until the mid-15th century, when it was restored by the Beaumont family. Despite remaining in the hands of this family and its successor, the house of Alba , until the 19th century, it has been in disuse since the first half of the 17th century.
- Church of Saint Euphemia: Although its construction was projected in the 13th century during the reign of Teobaldo II of Champagne, the final work was not completed until the 16th century. Gothic in style, both for the exterior and for the interior elements of the ruined castle were used. The carving of Saint Euphemia is from the 17th century.
- VALDIZARBE: Geographical area bordering the Region of Pamplona and made up of a dozen towns. Both the route that comes from Roncesvalles and that of Somport cross this valley . The itinerary of the Aragonese Way enters Valdizarbe through Olcoz and continues through Enériz and Obanos (where the French Way and the Aragonese Way meet) to end in Puente la Reina .
- OLCOZ:
- Church of San Miguel: The highlight is its doorway, facing north, it is a replica, but seen in a mirror, of the one found in the Eunate hermitage.
- ENERIZ:
- Church of Santa María Magdalena: Inside it exhibits a monumental altarpiece in the Romanesque style from the late 16th or 17th centuries.
- EUNATE: One of the symbols of the Jacobean route. Photogenic, solitary next to the fields of Valdizarbe and original Romanesque architecture : unique, with an octagonal floor plan and an interior patio surrounded by a gallery of 33 semicircular arches, are some of the arguments that have led it to be the main image. of many tourist posters and covers of numerous guides and books related to the Camino de Santiago. Built in 1170, its constructive purpose is still uncertain. Some studies say that it is the work of the Order of the Temple and others that it was built as a funerary chapel.
- OBANOS: In the center of the Plaza de los Fueros de Obanos, next to the church of San Juan Bautista, the pilgrims who come from Roncesvalles meet those from Somport. There has been much speculation about whether Obanos or Puente la Reina is the point where the two pilgrimage routes converged. The official signs go up to Obanos , although there are pilgrims who, instead of accessing this town, turn left when they reach the NA-6064 road and head straight for Puente la Reina. Obanos is characterized by the beauty of its streets and their houses. We can observe a varied civil architecture, with Gothic elements and stonework and brick. Thus, the houses of Muzquiz , Zabalegui , Tximonco andDon Fidel .
- Church of San Juan Bautista: Built in 1912 and restored in 2007, this church replaced an old Gothic construction. Of the Gothic temple it maintains, among other elements, the 14th century portals, the tower, the baptismal font and sculptures from the 17th century altarpiece. In the sacristy there is a Romanesque carving of the Virgin of Arnotegui .
- PUENTE LA REINA-GARES BRIDGE In this town of Navarra, the roads that start from Roncesvalles and Somport join . The bridge that gives the town its name dates from the 11th century. It crosses over the river Arga and was ordered to be built for the passage of pilgrims by Queen Doña Mayor , wife of Sancho III. Calle Mayor offers a beautiful walk that has been recovered since the Camino highway that connects Pamplona with Logroño was opened . Tranquility and an atmosphere far from cars and engine noise have returned to the town.
- Church of the Crucifix: After the shelter of the Reparadores fathers , the Jacobean route passes under the porch that joins this church with the convent. Santa María de los Huertos, as it was originally known, was built at the end of the 12th century. A Gothic one was added to the main Romanesque nave in the 14th century, which houses a German carving of Jesus Christ crucified. The cover is richly decorated with various motifs.
- Church of Santiago: When walking along Calle Mayor it is impossible not to pay attention to its tower, which seems to touch the sky. It was built at the end of the 12th century but its appearance was forged with the 16th century remodeling. It is a good idea to stop at the multi-lobed doorway that overlooks Calle Mayor and in front of the Gothic carving of Santiago Beltza .