The main facts about Ttutturre and the Sierra de Aralar have been stated in the main pages of the area and the mountain, but there's still something to be said. This route begins at the Rasos de Albia trailhead, easily reached by road from Lekunberri, and offers what is probably the easiest approach to Ttutturre (the most frequent one, if anything!). The hike is also quite a varied one: it goes at first through a forest, before reaching the wide Collado de Urdangonea. That's where the landscape changes and turns into a wide grassy plain to be crossed before the final climb. Magnificent views of the north face and the Malloas Ridge will reward summiters.

Getting There

The starting point for this route (and the main trailhead for Ttutturre) is the parking area placed at Rasos de Albia, on the 10km milestone of road NA-7510 between Lekunberri and San Miguel de Aralar. You’ll have to reach Lekunberri from Pamplona or San Sebastián by highway A-15, leaving it at anyone of the two exits signposted “Lekunberri” and keep on driving following the signs to Baraibar and San Miguel de Aralar.
For those who don’t have a car within easy reach, there’s a bus line (La Roncalesa, S.A.) covering regularly the trip between Pamplona and San Sebastián. Check the External links section for further information on this subject. The bad news is that this bus service will only take you up to Lekunberri. Additional transport (taxis, good-will bypassers, good-old hiking) will therefore be required to get to Rasos de Albia.

Route Description

Start walking at the parking area of Rasos de Albia. Just follow the right side of the road until you find (when the road turns slightly left) a dirt road going all ahead and with a sligh turn rightwards. That's the entrance into the forest, marked by the ancient dolmen of Albia to your left. Get going along the obvious path, marked by stone cairns and (from time to time) plastic ribbons hanging in the trees. The path winds a little bit but always keeps going north towards the wide collado de Urdangonea, open and grassy, placed between the tiny summits of Txameni (left - west of the col) and Beloki (right - east).
From that point on, turn right (grossly north-northeast) in search of an obvious gap between the summits in front of you. That's the point to cross the limestone ridge and face the final climb to Ttutturre. Though this final climb is not hard in itself, the path making it a little bit easier winds along the east face of the cone (from your position, the right side). If you chose a sunny day, the summit shall be a good prize and a fine spot to enjoy a light lunch and the

wide panorama at your feet

Essential Gear

No special gear requirements, apart from those mandated by the weather (specially about your clothes!). Bear in mind that the upper plains of Aralar can turn into a nasty trap if you get caught by fog, and consider seriously the option to carry a map and a compass or a GPS device.

External Links

La Roncalesa, S.A. Web page (english version) of the bus company serving the line from Pamplona to San Sebastián-Donostia and back

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