Lower Navarre - Geography

Geography

Lower Navarre is a collection of valleys in the foothills of the Pyrenees. The Aldudes valley, around the town of Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry in the south of Lower Navarre, preserves many old traditions, with houses of pink sandstone and contests of Force Basque, the games of strength. The Irouléguy wines are produced in the area around the town of Irouléguy.

The river Nive rises in Lower Navarre and flows through the province and on to Bayonne, where it meets the Adour. Beyond Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port itself, the Nive enters the Ossès valley, with many beautiful old houses with carved lintels in the villages of Ossès, Irissarry and Bidarray. A reserve for the pottok, the wild Basque Pyrennean pony, in the valley conserves this rare breed.

North of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port is the Mixe region around the town of Saint-Palais, a former Navarrese capital. Although close to Béarn, Basque influence and traditions are strong. Lower Navarrese is a dialect of the Basque language spoken in the region. Just south of Saint-Palais, the three principal routes to Santiago de Compostela on the Way of St James met at the hamlet of Ostabat, bringing much wealth and trade to the area in medieval times.

The Way of St James headed south from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port towards the mountain pass above Roncesvalles. Pilgrims travelled across the Cize region of Lower Navarre on their way to Navarre across the mountains. In these rolling hills, ewes' milk cheese, pur brebis, is commonly made, including Ossau-Iraty cheese. Villages like Estérençuby and Lecumberry are popular for agro-tourism and the Iraty beech forest on the Spanish border is known for its views and history. Dolmens and other neolithic monuments dot the landscape, including the Tour d'Urkulu high in the mountains at 1,149m—a 2,000-year-old circular platform of huge stone blocks. Lower Navarre is well delimited by mountain ranges on the west (with Mount Iparla as its highest and most iconic landmark), south (Roncevaux, Mount Urkulu and Pyrenees altogether) and the east (bounded by the western mountains of Soule).