Anboto, Mari’s mountain

Spring is one of the best times of year to visit this spectacular mountain full of mythological echoes.

This is one of the most popular mountains for hikers and trekkers. Its limestone massif rises to 1,331 metres amidst Bizkaia, Araba and Gipuzkoa, as if it were a great hinge connecting the three territories.

The ensemble is part of the Urkiola Natural Park. The most accessible paths to Anboto start from the beautiful surroundings of the sanctuary and its forested car park. The park offers spectacular scenery, with beech forests, meadows and rock formations.

It is important to bear in mind that the climb requires a good level of fitness and experience in mountain trekking, as well as suitable clothing and footwear, water and food, and good information on weather conditions.

Depending on where you want to go, a hike to Urkiola and back can take between 3 and 5 hours.

The experience of being in touch with nature, fauna and landscape is unforgettable.

THE GODESS

The caves and grottos carved into the limestone of Anboto were the favourite home of the mother goddess of pre-Christian mythology, whom the Basque anthropologist José Miguel de Barandiarán called ‘Mari’. The spirit who ruled the earth, the crops and the climate, crossed the sky in the form of a fiery sickle and rested inside the mountain. Both in the Anboto and in other mountains. But I had a weakness for this one. It was the house of ‘Anbotoko Mari’, one of the names of the goddess of Anboto.

There are still some people who see it. Or hear it. For a moment. In the twilight sky. Or peering out of a chasm.