Hotels in Roncesvalles

Roncesvalles

The hamlet, Orreaga in Basque, is little more than the collegiate church complex, the church of Santiago, the Sancti Spiritus chapel, known as Charlemagne's silo, and a handful of buildings around them. You arrive coming down from the Ibañeta pass, and at night there is absolute silence among the beeches.

It is mostly pilgrims who stay here, finishing the stage from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port or starting it the next day. Choice is limited and fills up in season, so book early. There are few options for dinner, almost all with a pilgrim's menu. If you are not walking the Camino, remember there are no shops or village life here: you come for the collegiate church, the forest and the silence.

Burguete

Auritz-Burguete, about three kilometres away by road and by a path through the trees, has a main street of white houses with balconies and pitched roofs. It is the village with the most bars, shops and restaurants in the area, and Hemingway described it in his novel Fiesta. It suits those travelling by car who want a bit of life in the evening, or families exploring the forests of the Navarrese Pyrenees.

Espinal

Aurizberri-Espinal, a little further south on the same road to Pamplona, is a long, quiet village with stone houses and meadows around it. The Camino runs through it and then climbs towards the Alto de Mezkiritz.

Rural accommodation here is varied and there is usually more space than in Roncesvalles. Choose Espinal if you are looking for calm, a house with room for a group or a convenient base for drives to the Irati forest and the Aezkoa valley. In winter it snows often, so check the state of the roads.