A1AA1A · CC BY-SA 4.0Mountain village
Luzaide (Spanish: Valcarlos; official name Luzaide/Valcarlos) is a town in Navarre, northern Spain, located on the French border and just a few kilometers from the road frontier in the French village of Arnéguy.
Tradition holds that this is the valley [val-] where Charlemagne's rear-guard, under the command of Roland, was slaughtered by Vascons at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778. Tradition holds that Charlemagne's troops were returning across the Pyrenees and had become stretched thin. The Vascons, unhappy with the Franks, fell upon the rear-guard and annihilated it. Roland sounded his horn but it was in vain as his horn was split upon a rock near Roncesvalles and he was slain along with his force. This battle at Valcarlos would prove to be Charlemagne's worst, and some say only, defeat in Iberia.
Today's Luzaide is a conglomeration of historical family villas and farms. The family homes are traditional with many whitewashed exteriors and family crests or coats of arms on the exterior. Many of the local landowners, such as the owners of Curutzezahar, a family home one kilometre up the hillside from the village center, have turned their homes into bed-and-breakfast style lodgings for the growing rural tourism industry in the Basque Country. Historically, families would be less associated with the town in which they lived and more with the home in which they were raised. Thus, using the prior home name, Curutzezaharreko would denote one who is from the house of Curutzezahar. The local cemetery shows that regional nomenclature on many headstones.
The town lies on the Camino de Santiago or Camino Francés pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. There are two routes through the region, one of which passes through the town.
Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
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30 places to explore Luzaide/Valcarlos at your own pace. Each number matches its point on the map.
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La iglesia parroquial de Santiago (euskera: Santiago Apostulua eliza) es una iglesia católica situada en el barrio de Elizalde de Valcarlos (Navarra, España). Acoge la parroquia de este municipio.
Iglesia
Fondo de cabañaZona arqueológica en Navarra
TúmuloZona arqueológica en Navarra
TúmuloZona arqueológica en Navarra
TúmuloZona arqueológica en Navarra
CrómlechZona arqueológica en Navarra
CrómlechZona arqueológica en Navarra
CrómlechZona arqueológica en Navarra
TúmuloZona arqueológica en Navarra
DolmenZona arqueológica en Navarra
TúmuloZona arqueológica en Navarra
Fondo de cabañaZona arqueológica en Navarra
DolmenZona arqueológica en Navarra
CrómlechZona arqueológica en Navarra
CrómlechZona arqueológica en Navarra
CrómlechZona arqueológica en Navarra
Fondo de cabañaZona arqueológica en Navarra
CrómlechZona arqueológica en Navarra
Fondo de cabañaZona arqueológica en Navarra
CrómlechZona arqueológica en Navarra
Fondo de cabañaZona arqueológica en Navarra
Fondo de cabañaZona arqueológica en Navarra
Fondo de cabañaZona arqueológica en Navarra
Fondo de cabañaZona arqueológica en Navarra
Fondo de cabañaZona arqueológica en Navarra
Yacimiento
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Monuments from Wikidata; summaries from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA) and photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited to their authors.
5 plans to experience Luzaide/Valcarlos on the move, not just passing through.
3 activities
2 activities
Places and plans from OpenStreetMap (ODbL): what is mapped within the municipal boundary, by name. If something is missing, it can be added there and will appear here in the next update.
What there really is in the village and around it, with distances. If an activity isn't on this list, we haven't found it nearby.
