4x4 excursion through the Irati Forest from Garralda

Auñak Excursiones is a company from the Aezkoa valley that tours the Irati Forest in a 4x4 minibus driven by a professional guide. It is the way to get into the forest without walking and with someone at the wheel who tells you what is passing the window: the history of the border, the wars and the smuggling that crossed these mountains.

Departure from the Garralda tower

The meeting point is Garralda, one of the villages of Aezkoa, next to the church tower. There are departures every day, morning or afternoon, always by prior booking and subject to availability. The website does not publish fixed times: the departure time is agreed when booking, by phone (688 697 058) or by email ([email protected]). Garralda is on the western side of Irati, a few minutes from Orbaitzeta, and a little over an hour from Pamplona by car; you leave the car in the village and continue in the minibus.

Iron, stones and border

The company cites these places among what it shows:

• The Royal Arms Factory of Orbaitzeta, the ruins of the 18th-century munitions factory in the Txangoa ravine. It has its own page: the Arms Factory.
• The cromlechs, prehistoric stone circles. At the Azpegi megalithic site, next to the border, the largest is about 10 metres in diameter and holds a tumulus inside; around it are up to sixteen more, visible from the road.
• The Urkulu tower, on the border ridge.
• The hórreos of Aezkoa, the valley's granaries of wood and stone on pillars.

The website does not detail the itinerary of each outing, so ask when you book which of these stops are on yours.

Price per group and what to ask

The tour costs from €240 for a group of four people, about €60 each; for groups of another size you have to ask the price. Auñak does not publish the duration, whether there are seats for small children, in which languages it guides or the cancellation conditions: these are the questions to ask before confirming the booking.

Who it makes sense for

For families with children who cannot manage a long route, for older people or those with limited mobility and for a rainy day when you do not feel like getting muddy. Also for anyone who has already walked in Irati and wants to understand the valley: what you see from the minibus is centuries of border.

The mountain taxi

Auñak also has an eight-seat taxi to take and collect hikers, cyclists and pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago at any point. It is useful for doing linear routes without coming back by the same path.