Side Trips from Pamplona

Had your fill of Hemingway and rampaging bulls? There are plenty of other attractions in Navarra that merit your attention. This is a place where nature shines, with huge horizons and endless skies. A foz (plural: foces) is a gorge, and there are plenty of them in this pre-Pyrenean region—heading directly east from Pamplona, a half-hour’s drive on the A-21 road, turning off onto NA-178, will lead you to the town of Lumbier and two spectacular foces. Lumbier’s tourist office on Plaza Mayor contains a gorge interpretation center (tel. 94-888-08-74) with exhibits illuminating the formation of the gorges and the resident wildlife. In summer it’s open daily 10am‒2pm, as well as 4:30–7:30pm on Friday and Saturday; the rest of the year it’s only open Friday to Sunday 10am‒2pm and 4:30-6:30pm. A viewpoint on the NA-178 just east of the town gives a stunning vista down the Foz de Arbayún (pictured above) as its sheer rock faces flank the Salazar River below; just west of Lumbier, signposted off the NA-178, you can actually walk through the Foz de Lumbier along an old railway track. The vertical cliffs above you are hugely popular with vultures and other raptors. It’s open daily 10am‒8pm, and admission is free—you need just a few euros to pay for the parking.

Or continue on the A-21 another 10 minutes, turning off just west of Yesa, to visit the Monasterio de San Salvador de Leyre (tel. 94-888-41-50). This monastery still has a handful of Benedictine monks in residence, and an impressive, tuneful organ with 2,750 pipes. The monks concoct an herb liqueur, available for purchase on-site, and sometimes can be found filling the sanctuary with Gregorian chants. The monastery is  open daily 10am‒7pm (until 6pm Nov‒Feb) and admission is 5€.