Armañón Natural Park

Armañón Natural Park covers an area of 2,996 hectares located on the western border of Biscay, in the district of Enkarterri. Since 2006, Armañón’s land has been protected by law by decree of the Spanish government.

This space is framed by the gorges of the Carranza and Agüera rivers. Armañón Park is formed by a mountain range whose peaks are no higher than 1,000 meters, such as the Carranza peaks and Los Jorros, which at 854 and 837 meters high respectively mark the vertical boundary of the park. The rock that composes it is limestone, so all of the land is scattered with limestone pavements, sinkholes, and other striking karst formations created by the effects of erosion. The more than 200 caves and underground chasms in Armañón Park stand out. Among them, there are some particularly noteworthy ones, such as Pozalgua Cave, famous for its unusual stalactites, which do not all grow vertically, and Torca del Carlista Cave, one of the largest of its kind in all of Europe. Armañón Park is also a good example of how human activity can coexist with nature in a sustainable and controlled way.

The highest parts of Armañón Park are filled with expanses of pastures and bushes, while on its hillsides there stretch out beech, oak, and holm oak forests. The Sopeña woods and the Balgerri woodsstand out. Among the fauna of Armañón there are large communities of bats, some of which belong to protected species.

Routes: Armañón Park contains several marked routes that allow the visitor to make their way around easily, passing through some of its cultural values such as the megalithic monuments in Carranza Valley and the urban center of its towns. The old plaza of Balmaseda is very interesting.

Entrances: From Bilbao, the entrance to Armañón Park can be accessed from highway BI-636 in the direction of Balmaseda, where it is advisable to take other minor roads that lead to the park.