How to visit and what to see in Selva de Irati (Navarra)

If in your tourist trip to Navarra you are looking for beautiful and leafy landscapes of the Pyrenees, Irati Forest It is a must see.

Navarre offers you a wide range of different landscapes, from the semi-desert Bardenas Reales park, up to the Pyrenees.

But it is in the Irati Forest and its surroundings where you find the greatest exponent of Pyrenean landscapes in Navarra.

I detail below what to see and do on your visit to the Irati Jungle, a place that I knew many years ago and to which I have returned in my most recent trip to Navarra.

What to see and do in Selva Irati in Navarra

The first thing you should know is that the Irat Junglei It is the second largest beech forest in Europe, after the Black Forest Germany.

But in the Irati Forest Beech forests are combined with fir forests, forming a large forest mass of 17.000 hectares.

In short, it is a very lush forest, ideal to enjoy if you like nature.

Nature reserves in Selva de Irati

In this area the natural reserves of Mendilatz y Tristuibartea and the comprehensive reserve of Lizardoia.

Likewise, the Irati Forest also has the qualification of special bird protection area.

La Irati Forest is located between the valleys of Aezkoa and Salazar, in the Pyrenees of Navarra.

in my first visit to the Irati JungleMany years ago, driving my own car, I traveled along the forest track that crosses said enclave from side to side.

Of course, I remember that the track in many sections was in a sorry state.

How to visit the Irati Jungle

But for some time now it has not been allowed to drive private motor vehicles inside the city. Irati Forest, so you can only visit it by hiking or mountain biking.

And if you want to know these landscapes in depth, you also have the option of signing up for a 4×4 excursion through the Irati Jungle,

This option allows you not only to explore the interior of the forest, but also to visit the mountains and the surrounding natural areas, just as I had the opportunity to do in my last trip to Navarra.

For visit the Irati Jungle, you can access through the east area, through the Salazar Valley, from the beautiful town of ochagavia.

Or on the contrary, to the west, to the Aezkoa Valleyat Orbaizeta, where you can visit the old weapons factory, and where is the Irati Jungle Interpretation Center.

This route enters very lush forests and surrounds the Irabia Reservoir, one of the most outstanding landscape points of the Irati Forest.

But on your visit to this area of ​​the Navarrese Pyrenees, you can not only enjoy landscapes of beech and fir forests, but you can also see mountainous landscapes, such as the nature reserve of Lizardoia, on the mountain The question.

Or in one 4×4 excursion you can also visit others mountains of the Aezkoa Valley, cross into France along the forest tracks, and enter Navarre again, even reaching Roncesvalles.

In short, my advice is that this is one of the visits that you cannot leave out on a trip. holidays in Navarre, where you will find the most lush Pyrenean landscapes of this community.

Map: how to get to the Irati Jungle

For get to Orbaizeta, town from can access the Irati Jungle, it will take you just over an hour north from Pamplona.