Navarre, which is a geographically and historically well-defined territory, emerges in the North of the Iberian Peninsula, bordering France. Along its 10, 421 square kilometres, there are a great variety of landscapes and cultures. From North to South, from the Pyrenees to the Ebro River, in less than 150 kilometres, there is a gradual and amazing transition: from the rocky limestone heights of the Pyrenees in the Roncal area, from the wild karstic view of Larra, to the clayey dried up plains of the Bardenas, on the border of, Aragón.

In Navarre the land is profuse and generous

Water is abundant in the mountains, supplying cities and industries; it produces the miracle of irrigation and the orchard fields. The average annual rainfall reaches 1.000 millimetres. Winters are cool with an average temperature of six degrees celsius and snow topped mountains. The cold temperatures last until the late spring, almost in summer. The average temperature during the summer is 20 degrees Celsius with some sticky hot days in July and August, which soon become cooler with occasional showers and soft northern breezes. Autumn gently unfolds its beauty; complying with the typical images: colourful mild days, changing skies, scented air and mushroom flowered mountains that the rainfalls bring.

Navarre is described as having three zones The Mountain, The Middle Zone and The Riverside Zone in the interest of simplification and clarification, as these areas are naturally defined.

The Mountain

The Pyrenees, northern front of the territory, arises as a natural frontier of 143 kilometres with France along which are several communication gates. Such as, the area of Roncal, through the valley of Belagua; in Salazar, at the foot of the Orhi mountain; in Valcarlos, near Roncesvalles, following the centennial way that witnessed the defeat of Carlomagno and which welcomed and still welcomes the pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela. The Pyrenean frontier becomes less abrupt westwards, the mountains descend as they approach the coast and although the valleys are still deep and narrow, they offer more opportunities to cross the natural mountainous border: Urdax watches the pass towards Dancharinea, while the Bidasoa River opens its narrow winding way to the sea through Endarlaza, from where you reach Irún, the door to France.

The mountain, notrthern part of Navarre, is a land of snowfalls and heavy fog, of deep forests and grasslands, of tiny villages and forgotten country houses, once belonging to stockbreeders or lumbermen. The scenery is perfectly captured in the eastern pine grove valleys of Roncal and Salazar, and in the dark beech woods of the Irati forest that prolongs itself to the West of the region.

The Middle Zone

As the mountains disappear, The Middle Zone opens. In this area the rivers run heavy with the molten snow and winter rainfall: the Esca River in Roncal, the Salazar River that crosses Ochagavía, the Irati River which comes down from the Pyrenean forest, the Urrobi River from Ibañeta, and the Arga River which originates in the Quinto Real forest and crosses through Pamplona. Within this framework of rivers running from North to South, another yet is added running from West to East, the Araquil River carrying the waters of the Aralar mountain range in the North and the Urbasa and Andía mountain ranges in the South.

The middle zone is a land of transition, where the mountains give way to the riverside zone. The different mountain ranges: Aralar, Urbasa, Andía, Perdón, Alaiz, Izco and Leyre extending from the West to the East, from the province of Guipúzcoa to Aragón, now yield a change in the landscape.

Valleys increase in number and the country settings become smaller and more harmonious. The weather is mild and wet therefore, under these conditions, the cereal harvest is very often extraordinary.

The Riverside zone

The South of Navarre is marked by the River Ebro crossing through the capital of the area, Tudela. From West to East runs the River Ega and together with the River Arga and River Aragón they provide water for the fertile fields which are the basis of a rich agricultural industry.

Hot dry summers and wet winters with a strong cold wind known as the "cierzo" in the Ebro valley comply the typical Mediterranean climate of this region. To the southast of the area contrasting with the rich grasslands of the north is the Bardenas, an area where the erosion has sculptured the clayey land into steep ravines and plateaus with scarce vegetation.

Navarre is strategically situated in the centre of the Ebro valley allowing communication through the Cantabrian Sea, Mediterranean Sea, the Basque Country and Catalonia favouring industrial and commercial exchange. Also its location on the French border permits a closer contact with this country as well as with the European Union.

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