Zumaia has a privileged location on the coast of Guipúzcoa, on the bay at the point where the Urola and Narrondo rivers come together. The origins of this town can be traced to its ancient monastery.
In the Middle Ages, the people who lived in the Sehatz valley, tired of enduring the continuous attacks of pirates and pillagers, fortified the city. That is why its church has a defensive appearance.
We begin our visit in the medieval Old Town. There we will be astonished by the magnificence of the church of San Pedro, a gothic church dating from the 13th century. The building looks like a fortress, without any decorative elements on its exterior walls. Inside, this one-nave church can be considered one of the most beautiful gothic constructions of the Basque Country. In fact, an altarpiece by Juan de Antxieta was declared National Monument.
Itzurun and San Telmo hermitage
The Itzurun beach is the nearest one to the village. It’s open to the sea and sheltered by the hermitage of San Telmo.
Its sand and water is beneficial due to the high concentration of iodine.
The amazing cliffs are also worth a visit. From Itzurun beach to Deba, it is possible to take a wonderful walk and admire the magnificent rocks by the sea. At low tide we can observe a curious phenomenon known as Flysch: alternating deposit of sandstone and limestone rocks forming distinct layers.
Tidal zone and ‘flysch’
The big book of History: our planet
The alternation of stratums of hard and soft rocks makes up the ‘flysch’, a natural ‘millefeuille’ making the coast between Zumaia and Deba an object of study for geologists and a place to admire for the uninitiated.
The amazing cliffs in Zumaia, Deba and Mutriku (they have been declared protected biotope in 2009) make up one of the most important geological sanctuaries in the world. The rocks of these almost-vertical layers were created by the under-sea sediment accumulation million of years ago.
Later on, formation of the Pyrenees and the incessant sea erosion discovered 50 million years of our planet’s past, defined layer by layer, as if it were a big book of history.
Reading the stratums and studying the fossils, we can decipher some of the best-kept secrets of the Earth’s history, like climatic cycles, the fall of a meteorite causing the disappearance of dinosaurs, or the last important global warming; a whole new world to discover in an amazing journey through time.
Besides the unquestionable geological interest of the Flysch, the amazing tidal area, developed at the foot of the cliffs, is a unique landscape spectacle.
There are organized excursions to visit this beautiful landscape.
Santiago beach
Santiago beach is situated in the eastern area of Zumaia, next to some marshes formed by the river Urola where it flows.
At the point at which the River Urola empties its waters, so rich in history and with echoes of old ironworks, into the sea, lies Arenal de Santiago, a wide sandy area which once served as a much welcomed resting place on the old coastal pilgrim trail to Santiago de Compostela.
The area is now a large sandy beach with calm waters ideal for bathing. As the sand meets the sea, so the dunes which form a special ecosystem supporting over 50 different plant species also develop.
Ignacio Zuloaga cultural space
In 1921, the painter inaugurated the group of buildings, which are located in the Basque Country, in Zumaia, and built around a 12th century chapel. The purpose was to show his own artwork, as well as antique and contemporary paintings and sculptures created by his masters and peers.
In the study-workshop, built by Zuloaga himself as a place for painting, personal objects belonging to the artist have been preserved, in addition to some of his artwork. Housed in the historical collection museum, also erected by the painter, are the art collections of Zuloaga, and of his wife Valentine Dethomas, as well as pieces inherited from his father, Plácido Zuloaga.
Among the paintings in this collection, which span the period between the 12th and 20th centuries, are pieces by Rodin, Zurbarán, Goya and El Greco.
The collection is completed by a Roman chapel, which was reconstructed by Zuloaga between 1910 and 1920 and which houses the Christ on the Cross by Julio Beobide and a picture of the Lady of Sorrows, by Quintín Torres, both polychromed by Ignacio Zuloaga.
HOW TO GET TO ZUMAIA FROM SAN SEBASTIAN
BUS
Company: Lurralde bus.
You can take this bus from the bus station in Amara (Pio XII).
It takes about 1 hour and the ticket costs 2,35€ (1,29€ with Mugi card)
You have buses going to Zumaia every hour (check the schedule in the link below)
Schedule: http://www.euskotren.es
TRAIN
Company: Euskotren
Train station: “Metro station” in Easo.
You have trains leaving almost every half an hour. (see the schedule in the link below)
To get to Zumaia takes about 40 min.
The ticket costs 2,35€ (1,29€ with Mugi card)
Schedule: http://www.euskotren.es
Usac San Sebastian 