The Natural Park of Urbasa and Andia has an area of 21,488 hectares and is composed of mainly 4 parts:
- Urbasa Mountain Range
- Andía Mountain Range
- Monte de Limitaciones
- Source of the Urederra River
The Andía Mountain Range has a wilderness equipped with a wide range of values of geological, biological, ecological, aesthetic, scenic, archaeological and socio-cultural countryside
This Natural Park is located on the north-western part of Navarre, between the Canyon to the north and the Estella Region to the south. It consists of spaces surrounded by beautiful and extensive valleys that allow us to enjoy nature.
Urbasa-Andia natural park
It was declared a Natural Park on 12 March 1997.
The most distinctive feature of area are the beech forests, it is fundamentally the beech trees and the grasslands that form part of the history of this park.
The configuration and structure of the Natural Park is karst, which means that the land consists of limestone massifs in which there is erosion by dissolving cracked structures allowing the passage of water in deep zones. This is the reason that the park has a lot of underground water stored.
In the Andía Mountain Range there are abundant cavities between caves and chasm, plus the countless sinkholes (funnel-shaped circular depressions). The clearings or pastures where infinite horses, sheep and cattle graze allow us to walk and enjoy nature.
In this park there are protected species of great interest, such as:
- Alphine-newt (Triturus alpestris)
- Bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) the park is within the expansion area in the Plan of Recovery of this species.
You can explore almost all year
The main tree species are beech (Fagus sylvatica) and field maple (Acer campestre).
As secondary tree species, you can find, Holly (llex aquifolium L.), European Yew (Taxus baccata l), Large-leaved linden (Tilia platyphyllos Scopoli), Ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.), Oak (Quercus spp) and wild fruit.
Regarding them, reiterating that they must be respected as they play an important role, made to ensure an adequate representation.
The Andía Mountain Range
In the Andía Mountain Range you can explore almost all year. Due to the amount of water pouring over the surface, there are certain days in winter making it very uncomfortable to walk through the area, as there is a lot of moisture and mud which hinders the way.
The hiking possibilities are immense depending on each group or level of demand or difficulty, the duration of each excursion wanted.
The mountain bike is an ideal way to tour and get to know the Andía Natural Park.
For more information: http://www.parquedeurbasa.es
