Teodosius of Goñi
The Navarrese knight who, deceived by the devil, committed parricide and wandered in chains until Saint Michael freed him at Aralar.
Source of the Urederra
— Nafarroa —
Quick facts
- • Place: Baquedano, Urbasa range, Navarre
- • Basque name: Urederraren Jaiotza
- • Etymology: Ur (water) + eder (beautiful)
- • Access: Moderate, advance reservation required
- • Altitude: 700 metres
Description
The source of the Urederra is one of the most spectacular natural spaces in Navarre and in the wider Basque Country. This spring, located in the Urbasa range, gives rise to a river of striking turquoise pools that feels almost unreal in its colour and clarity.
The trail leading to the source covers about five kilometres through ancient beech forest and follows the course of the river. Along the route, waterfalls, pools and moss-covered rocks create a setting that has turned Urederra into one of the most admired landscapes of inland Navarre.
The extraordinary colour of the Urederra waters comes from the purity of the water filtered through limestone, the depth of the pools and the reflection of the surrounding vegetation. The result is a place that seems suspended between geology, light and legend.
Because of its ecological fragility and the large number of visitors it attracts, access to the source is regulated through a reservation system. This has helped preserve the natural beauty of the place and guarantee a calmer experience in one of Navarrese most delicate landscapes.
Related legends
Related creatures
Basajaun
The shaggy giant who lives in the forests, protector of flocks and guardian of the secrets of agriculture and the forge.
Lamiak
Seductive nymphs who dwell in rivers and springs, recognisable by bird feet or fish tails, combing their hair with golden combs.
Sorginak
The Basque witches and wise women, priestesses of Mari who mastered potions, curses and the art of flying through the night sky.
The source of the Urederra: turquoise water rising from the range
The Urederra’s source at Baquedano in central Navarre is among northern Iberia’s most spectacular natural phenomena. Intense turquoise water emerges from Urbasa’s limestone, immediately forming a waterfall and pools ranging from emerald green to cobalt blue according to depth and the angle of sunlight.
Urederra literally means beautiful water in Basque, perhaps the territory’s most accurate and deserved place name. Its extraordinary colour comes from calcium carbonate dissolved from Urbasa’s limestone, producing under particular light conditions an effect long interpreted as a sign of supernatural beings within the spring.
The Urederra trail and Urbasa plateau
The three-kilometre trail from Baquedano’s designated parking area follows the Urederra gorge towards its source between rock walls and old beech woods. Turquoise pools, forest shade, limestone cliffs and gentle running water make it one of Navarre’s most popular nature routes, offering a full sensory experience in every season.
Above the Urederra, Urbasa’s plateau is a different landscape: open pasture and scattered beech woods at a thousand metres, long one of Navarre’s major communal grazing territories. The water dazzling visitors below fell here as rain weeks or months earlier, slowly filtering through rock before emerging in that improbable colour.
