Alto de Mezkiritz Viewpoint
Drive or hike the minor road north-east of Burguete towards the Puerto de Mezkiritz (pass, 894 m) and you are rewarded with a sweeping 360-degree panorama that takes in the beech-covered ridges of Irati, the Roncesvalles valley and, on clear winter days, the snow-capped peaks of the Pyrenean main crest. It is almost entirely unknown to visitors who are not local.
Getting There
From Burguete's main square, take the NA-2030 road east for approximately 7 kilometres to the pass. The road is narrow and unpaved for the final 2 km but passable in a standard car in dry conditions. A small lay-by at the summit accommodates three or four vehicles.
Alternatively, a waymarked footpath leaves from the eastern edge of Burguete village and climbs gently through beech and bracken to the pass in about 90 minutes, gaining roughly 300 metres of elevation. The path is part of the GR-12 long-distance trail network.
What You See
To the north-west, the distinctive flat-topped ridge of Adi (1,458 m) anchors the horizon, while the Roncesvalles basin spreads below in a patchwork of meadow and dark conifer. On the French side, the Basque Pyrenees roll away in diminishing blue ridges.
In late October the colour display from this height is extraordinary — you are looking down onto the beech canopy rather than up through it, and the entire hillside appears to have been set alight in amber and rust.
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