Navarre · Hegoalde

Zugarramurdi

Some 230 inhabitants, a cave hollowed out by a stream and a story that has come down through four centuries. Zugarramurdi, right up against the border opposite Sare, is the witch village of the Basque Country (Euskal Herria): it was from here that the accused in the great Inquisition trial of 1610 came.

Zugarramurdi in 30 seconds

Around 230 inhabitants (231 in 2023, INE), in the north of Navarre, right on the French border, opposite Sare (Sara) in Labourd (Lapurdi), 83 km from Pamplona. A village of white farmhouses with red shutters, meadows and limestone hills: you could still be in Labourd.

A little history

Late 1608: María de Ximildegui returns from Labourd, where the judge Pierre de Lancre is conducting his own witch-hunt, and spreads accusations in Zugarramurdi; many Labourd families then flee to Navarre. In January 1609, the Inquisition tribunal of Logroño takes up the case: some forty villagers are prosecuted.

7 and 8 November 1610: the Logroño auto-da-fé. Of the accused, most of whom came from Zugarramurdi and the surrounding area, 18 are ‘reconciled’ after confessing, 6 are burnt alive for refusing to admit their guilt and 5, who had died in prison before the verdict, are burnt in effigy.

1611–1614: the inquisitor Alonso de Salazar y Frías carries out a meticulous investigation and concludes, in 1614, that the confessions were obtained under duress and that none of the acts reported actually took place.

2007: the Witches’ Museum opens. 2013: Álex de la Iglesia’s film Las brujas de Zugarramurdi makes the village known throughout Spain.

What to see

The witches’ cave (Sorginen Leizea)

A natural karst tunnel about 120 m long, up to 12 m high in places, with two upper galleries, carved out of the limestone by the Olabidea (or Orabidea) stream, nicknamed Infernuko erreka (‘the stream of hell’). Legend places the akelarres here, which the Inquisition judged to be devil worship; the cave was also used by smugglers. Tickets online: cave only, museum only, or both.

The Witches’ Museum (Sorginen Museoa)

Housed in the village’s former hospital. It explains the context of the period, the 1610 trial, the mechanics of persecution and the place of beliefs in rural Basque society. Visit it before the cave to make better sense of it.

The village

Traditional Basque houses, a church, a wash house, smugglers’ paths to Sare. Half an hour’s stroll is enough, but you’ll want to linger.

Around Zugarramurdi

  • The Sare caves (Labourd), just across the border
  • Urdax (Urdazubi): its abbey and its cave with stalactites and stalagmites, one of the main late Stone Age sites in Navarre
  • Ainhoa, one of the Most Beautiful Villages of France (Les Plus Beaux Villages de France), a few kilometres away
  • Elizondo and the Baztan valley — see our guide to Elizondo

The Zikiro Jate feast

During the village festival in August, Zugarramurdi holds the Zikiro Jate in the cave, a big feast of roast mutton. The village also celebrates the summer solstice there.

What to try

  • Roast lamb (zikiro), the speciality of the feast
  • Sheep’s cheeses from nearby farms
  • Patxaran, Navarre’s sloe liqueur
  • Gâteau basque and farm-gate produce on the Sare and Ainhoa side

Getting there

  • By car: from Labourd via Ainhoa, or from Pamplona (83 km)
  • On foot: hiking trails from Sare
  • Public transport: very limited — a car is essential

Practical tips

  • Wear closed shoes: the cave floor can be damp
  • Combine it with the Sare caves on the same day
  • Check the opening times of the museum and the cave before you set off, as they change with the seasons

My favourite photo

The great arch of the cave against the light, late in the afternoon, when the light streams through the gallery and the stream glints at the bottom.

Sources

Ongi etorri Zugarramurdira — Welcome to Zugarramurdi.

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