Royal Munitions Factory of Orbaitzeta

In the Txangoa ravine, at the entrance to the Irati Forest from the Aezkoa valley, stand the ruins of the Royal Munitions Factory of Orbaitzeta. The Crown took over the Aezkoa mountains in the 18th century to build it beside the valley's old ironworks: here there was wood for charcoal, iron mines and water to drive the machines. Its job was to supply the army with ammunition.

An industrial village at the foot of the border

The factory lasted about a century. Being so close to France made it a target for looting and fires; it recovered each time, until it closed for good in the 19th century. It was not just one building: the complex was tiered on three levels, with the factory, the church, the homes of more than 150 workers with their families and the troops who guarded it, and a system of aerial platforms that carried the charcoal and ore from the stores to the mouths of the furnaces.

Today you walk among partly consolidated walls. The Furnaces building has been rehabilitated by the Government of Navarre, and the whole complex has been an Asset of Cultural Interest since 2008.

The Kultur Ola, in the old palace

Next to the ruins, the factory's old palace houses the Aezkoako Kultur Ola, the interpretation centre run by the Valley Council. On the first floor you buy tickets and watch a video about Irati and the people of the valley. The second floor reconstructs the factory as it worked in 1784, with machinery and panels, and shows bombs, ingots and slag that came out of it, as well as a model Aezkoan house and a section on forestry work. The third tells the story of the valley's emigration to America in the 20th century.

It opens at Easter, at weekends in May and June and every day from 1 July to 10 November; for the rest of November, at weekends, and over the December bridge, from the 3rd to the 10th, it is best to confirm beforehand. The hours and individual rates are in an image on the website: call 848 680 534 or write to [email protected]. From the same centre guided visits of the ruins are run, by prior booking; for groups of 15 or more, the combined visit costs €6 per person. There is a lift at the back of the building.

Getting there without a fee

From Aribe, take the NA-2030 towards Orbaitzeta; past the village, about 3 km further, turn left at the junction and continue 1.5 km to the factory. In total, about 5 km from Orbaitzeta. This access to Irati, the one for the Arms Factory and Azpegi, does not pay the maintenance fee charged in high season at the Arrazola area.

Continuing to Azpegi

About 3 km further up is the Azpegi refuge and, in the meadow beside the border, the megalithic site: cromlechs and dolmens scattered across the meadow, the largest about 10 m in diameter. If you do not want to drive, the Auñak 4x4 excursion passes the factory and the cromlechs.