Hermitage of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe

Few views on the Biscay coast are as recognisable as Gaztelugatxe: a rocky islet that rises from the sea off Bermeo and is joined to the mainland by a two-arched bridge. At the very top stands the hermitage of San Juan, the end point of a route on which landscape and history go hand in hand.

The sanctuary has its roots in the early Middle Ages. It is dated to the 10th century, although some finds even point to the 9th, placing it among the longest-standing religious sites in the area. It is also worth looking at it through a historian's eyes, because the hermitage was not built on virgin ground: it occupies the site where a castle linked to the Kingdom of Navarre once stood.

That fortress enjoyed its moment of glory when Castilian troops laid siege to it without managing to take it. It is not hard to see why when you consider the islet's position, cut off by the water and reachable only by a narrow passage. This defensive past goes a long way towards explaining the very name of the place and adds a further layer of interest to the visit, one that goes beyond the devotional.

The natural setting deserves as much attention as the building itself. Together with the neighbouring island of Aketxe, Gaztelugatxe forms a protected biotope that stretches from Bakio to Cape Matxitxako, within the municipality of Bermeo, overlooking the Bay of Biscay. It is a rugged, wild stretch of coastline that invites you to explore it at a leisurely pace and enjoy the Cantabrian Sea at its most unspoilt, before or after climbing up to the hermitage.