Navarra and Navarreses

Navarra is a small, sparsley populated region famed for its wines. It is bordered by Euskadi to the west, the Pyrenees to the north and Aragón to the east. At its southern border is the equally well known wine growing province of La Rioja.

It is a land of contrasts, not only geographically but socially and politically. The northern part of Navarra is culturally very Basque Its dominance by the Pyrenees, land filled with green valleys and sheep farmers. Euskera is widely spoken and there are some Basques striving for a union between the two regions.
Here in the north you will find the mountains a home for skiing during the winter and caving, hiking and canoeing during the rest of the year. Here too, you will find Europe's oldest beech forest, Bosque de Irati.

The southern part of Navarra is more Castilian in nature, the baking southern and central plains. Here the winters are cold and the summers merciless. The landscape is dotted withhuge windmills, taking good advantage of the westerly wind that blow across the meseta. Southern Navarra is home to olive groves and vineyards. Corn and wheat are also grown.

Perhaps what Navarra is most famous for is the huge fiesta of San Fermin held in Pamplona. San Fermin is Navarra's patron saint and he was Pamplona's first bishop. In his honour every year on 7 July, a week long fiesta ensues with the famous 'bull run' or encierro taking place daily. This half mile run is one the most hair raising experiences. Participants must be physically fit and although running in front of the enraged bulls is extremely dangerous it doesn't deter people coming from all over the world, to display their courage.

Navarra is where, during the 1920s, Ernest Hemingway lost his heart to the then unknown land. It was in his novels For Whom The Bell Tolls and The Sun Also Rises that he immortalized this beautiful land and its culture and cuisine.

With regular flights to Pamplona (Iruña) and good RENFE rail connections and motorway links it has never been easier to visit this region.