Point-to-Point MTB Routes (from A to Z) through the forests of the BASQUE PYRENEES
Multi-stage mountain biking adventures across the Atlantic Pyrenees
The UNIVERSE BASOAK MTB is a set of mountain biking stages sited in the North of Navarra - in the area from the border with Gipuzkoa in the West to the Ori Peak in the East - From the landscape point of view it is a territory dominated by an intermittent combination of cattle pastures and forests - BASOAK in the Basque language traditionally spoken in the territory -.
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The different combination of stages generates different options for the UNIVERSE BASOAK MTB.
We are in the Navarre Pyrenees and its foothills. Geologically speaking, these are mountains that are older than the rest of the Pyrenees. This age is the cause of those soft, hilly shapes - simply more eroded by the elements - covered with trees that we can recognize in any photograph of the area. The result - as far as we are concerned - is a "hilly" geography that opens the way to an almost overflowing potential for mountain biking.
To understand where the BASOAK UNIVERSE is going, we can say that overall these are stages with a considerable level of physical demand and moderate in technical terms. It could be summed up by saying that we are not looking for enduro but rather for "singletrack", the more "flow" the better. In some stages this is achieved better and in others worse.
And as in all BASOAK, proposals, when the route crosses territories with "influence" of an active MTB Center, we integrate as far as possible in our tracks the routes of the Center that best suit our route intention, thus including paths initially designed for more local use in our long-distance proposals.
It will be strange to see the stages classified by letters instead of numbers. The reason is simple; We wanted to maintain the identity of the stage regardless of the combination we make. This factor, combined with the different numbers of days that make up the different proposals, and the possible variation of the starting point of the same, causes the effect that what for one group is stage 1 for another is eg 3. And this will ultimately make the final order of the tracks of a given proposal a letter code of type eg G-C-D-E, something more understandable than 7-3-4-5.
Each letter is also accompanied by a number... A1, A2... since all stages have variations depending on the difficulty, style or other reasons.
In 2024, with the stage between the Ultzama Valley and the town of Irurtzun, we reached stage Z, we have run out of letters of the alphabet and the potential never stops...
Suggestions are welcome!
UNIVERSE BASOAK MTB
Differents sets of routes of - mtb - 3 to 6 Stages of Singletrack among the Woods of the Basques Pyrenees and the Irati Forest
We know that lines on this map can be confusing. And we know that, at first glance, it might even seem nonsensical to pack so many concentrated lines into a single geography. It is not. It is not a mistake. Rest assured... if we have worked on it, it is only because the territory not only allows it, but demands it.
The colors are the key; focus on just one of them and you will see that—at least in part—the blurriness clears and the route takes shape.
In the maps you can see below by scrolling right here, you will notice that each route follows its own distinct path.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT ONE FOR YOU
Circular route of 3 to 6 Stages through the forests of Quinto Real (EREMUA), the IRATI Forest and the BAZTAN Valley
Circular route of 3 to 6 Stages through the forests of Basaburua and Eremua, and the BAZTAN Valley
Demanding circular route of 3, 4 or 5 Stages in 2 x H format - 2 nights per hotel - through the unique border territory of the QUINTO NORTE, the BAZTAN Valley and the IRATI FOREST
Circular route of 5 Stages through the Urbasa and Aralar mountain ranges, the forests and paths of the Basaburua BTT Centre, and the forests and paths of Quinto Real (Eremua BTT Centre)
Circular route of 4 Stages through the Urbasa and Aralar mountain ranges and the mountains, forests and singletracks of the Basaburua, Imotz and Ultzama valleys
Circular route of 3 Stages through the Urbasa and Aralar mountain ranges and the mountains, forests and singletracks of the Basaburua Valley
The antiquity of the Navarrese Pyrenees with respect to the rest of the mountain range is the cause of those soft and hilly forms -simply more eroded by the elements- that give way to the "potential" of BASOAK MTB UNIVERSE
