A HIDDEN PARADISE IN ENKARTERRI
Discover the ecological richness and the subway wonders
In few places does nature manifest itself with such splendor as in the Armañón Natural Park. Among its peaks and forests extends an infinite tangle of paths and more than two hundred caves.
Armañón is one of the natural jewels of Enkarterri. The park extends between the municipalities of Karrantza and Turtzioz and is characterized by its ecologically rich karst landscapes. Thanks to these stone massifs, Armañón enjoys a unique microclimate that has allowed Mediterranean oak and beech forests to grow just a few kilometers from the Cantabrian coast.
In this highly rural territory there are still several breeds of native livestock easily recognizable during a visit to the Park's surroundings: the Carranzana blond-faced and black-faced sheep, the Encartaciones sheepdog and the Monchina cow are just some of them.
The park is an exaltation of nature, with its lush forests and an infinite labyrinth of chasms, sinkholes, torcas and caves. Its subsoil hides more than 200 caves, many of them open only to speleologists because of their great extension, such as the Torca del Carlista. The best known, however, is the cave of Pozalagua, chosen Best Corner of the Repsol Guide in 2013.
Pozalagua offers a unique spectacle: the largest concentration of eccentric stalactites in the world. These millimeter-thick formations seem to defy the laws of gravity and intertwine capriciously to form a spectacular mosaic.
The visit passes between column formations and lava flows until you reach the Versailles room, the one with the highest concentration of eccentric stalactites. The tour continues to a viewpoint that allows you to contemplate the grandeur of this corner of the subsoil in all its splendor.
In the Interpretation Center of the Natural Park of Armañón, in the surroundings of the Pozalagua Cave, you can obtain more information about the Natural Park and the neighboring mountainous area of Ordunte, which, like Armañón, belongs to the Natura 2000 Network.
- Address: Ranero, Karrantza (Bizkaia)
- Telephone: 946 560 079
- E-mail: armanon.parke.naturala@bizkaia.eus