Stage 2 of the GR11 is normally shown as a single-day walk of 30+ km from Vera de Bidasoa to Elizondo and is generally considered the hardest day in the whole of the 840km route. We did it in one go and suffered the consequences - blisters, dehydration and heat exhaustion and most importantly, we arrived too late in Elizondo for dinner in the evening. For the purposes of Walkingworld therefore, we suggest you split it and do it in two days, breaking the walk at the Spanish / French border at Collado de Lizarreta or perhaps further on at the Collado de Esquisarey (Walk 3120), completing the stage to Elizondo the following day. Stage 2b is described in Walk 3120. Taken over two days this is a super walk across rolling unspoilt countryside where you can walk all day and meet no more than a handful of people. Stage 2a starts beside the Hostal Euskalduna and climbs through the woods to Santa Barbara, before heading east to meet the French border at Collado de Lizarreta.

Spain - Navarra - Pyrenees

View a road map to the starting point of this walk.