San Juan de Gaztelugatxe is a tiny hermitage on a rocky islet off the Biscay coast of the Basque Country, joined to the mainland by a stone bridge and a stairway of 241 steps. It sits between Bakio and Bermeo, about 35km from Bilbao, and it is one of the most photographed places in northern Spain.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, Roman Trail earns a small commission at no extra cost to you.
What Is Here
THE WALK IS THE WHOLE THING AND IT IS DOWN FIRST, WHICH CATCHES PEOPLE OUT. From the car park and visitor centre you descend a long path to the bridge, cross it, and then climb the 241 steps up the islet to the hermitage. Then you do all of it in reverse, uphill, at the end. Allow an hour and a half to two hours for the round trip at an unhurried pace.
The hermitage itself is small and plain. There has been a church here since the 10th century; the present one is 11th century in origin and was rebuilt after a fire in 1978. Ringing the bell three times at the top is the local custom, for a wish or to ward off bad spirits depending on who is telling you.
The bridge and the stairway are the structure that makes it possible, as the second image shows, and they are cut and built along the spine of the rock rather than up its face.
A FREE TIMED TICKET IS REQUIRED IN THE BUSY SEASON AND THIS IS THE THING TO GET RIGHT. Entry is controlled to protect the site and the numbers are capped per slot. Tickets are free but must be booked in advance and they do run out. Arriving without one in July does not work.
It is in the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve, and the coast either side is as good as the islet: Bakio's beach for surfing, Bermeo's working fishing port, and the Matxitxako lighthouse on the headland.
Game of Thrones used it as Dragonstone, which is why the visitor numbers changed. The production filmed the exterior only, and nothing on the islet refers to it.
When to Go
May, June, September and October. The light is best early and late and the site is quietest then.
CHECK WHETHER IT IS OPEN BEFORE YOU DRIVE OUT. The stairway closes in high wind and heavy swell, and the Bay of Biscay delivers both. A closure is a safety decision taken on the day and it is not negotiable.
July and August are busy and hot on the steps, which are stone and unshaded.
Winter is dramatic, with the sea breaking over the lower steps, and the site is frequently closed for exactly that reason.
Getting There
By car from Bilbao, about 45 minutes, with paid parking at the visitor centre. The car park fills early in summer.
By bus, Bizkaibus A3518 runs Bilbao to Bakio and Bermeo and stops near the site, taking roughly an hour.
On foot, the coast path from Bakio is about 6km and is the best approach if you have the time.
By air, Bilbao is 45 minutes away.
Is San Juan de Gaztelugatxe Safe for Women?
The Basque coast is safe and the site is busy and supervised. The hazards are the steps, the sea and the weather. The FCDO publishes no advised-against areas anywhere in Spain, and the country is one of the most straightforward in the world to travel in. Its safety and security page concentrates on petty theft, which is the realistic risk, and on the fact that Spanish police require you to report a theft in person to get the denuncia your insurer will ask for.
Spain's advisory carries a section on falls from height, and it exists because of resort balconies. The FCDO records a number of serious and some fatal accidents involving British nationals falling from height, including from balconies, and three things worth knowing before you book: some regions will fine you or evict you from your hotel for behaving irresponsibly around a balcony, hotels will do the same, and YOUR TRAVEL INSURANCE MAY NOT COVER a balcony incident at all, or one where drink or drugs were involved. Follow the safety advice the hotel posts, and watch out for anyone in your group who is at risk.
THE STEPS ARE THE REAL RISK AND THEY ARE WET MORE OFTEN THAN NOT. 241 of them, uneven, polished by use, open to spray on the lower section, with a handrail in most places and a drop beside them. They are slippery in rain and after swell. Go down facing the steps rather than the view.
The approach path is a sustained climb on the way back, which is the part that surprises people who have only looked at photographs of the bridge. Anyone with knee or heart trouble should think about it honestly before starting down.
The sea breaks over the lower steps and the bridge in swell, which is why the site closes.
There is no shade and no water on the walk, and only limited facilities at the visitor centre.
The San Juan de Gaztelugatxe Packing List
A steep damp staircase over the Bay of Biscay, in weather that changes within the hour.
Our merino base layers are 100% Australian merino at 17.5 micron, and a long sleeve merino wool base layer for women is the right first layer because this walk makes you hot and then stops you dead: you climb back up sweating and then stand at the top in an Atlantic wind, and wool is the fibre that handles that transition instead of chilling you. From November to March add a heavyweight merino base layer.
A Marmot PreCip Eco rain jacket with a hood that cinches down. Biscay rain comes in sideways and there is nowhere at all to shelter.
Merrell Moab 3 waterproof hiking boots or at minimum waterproof hiking shoes, with Darn Tough merino socks. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT LINE ON THE LIST: 241 wet polished steps in smooth-soled trainers or sandals is how people get hurt here, and a great many visitors arrive in exactly that.
A RAYMYLO insulated water bottle, filled at the visitor centre, because there is nothing on the walk.
Not linked and worth packing: TREKKING POLES if your knees object to a long descent followed by a long ascent; a SMALL DAYPACK rather than a shoulder bag, so both hands are free on the steps; and a PHONE SCREENSHOT OF YOUR TICKET, since signal at the site is patchy. Cards work at the visitor centre.
Recommended Tours and Experiences
Essential Resources for Women in San Juan de Gaztelugatxe
Emergency numbers: 112 for police, ambulance and fire, free from any phone including a locked mobile. In the Basque Country the Ertzaintza is the regional police force and 112 reaches them. Maritime emergencies go to Salvamento Maritimo on 900 202 202.
A free timed ticket is required in the busy season, must be booked in advance, and does run out. Arriving without one does not work. CHECK WHETHER THE STAIRWAY IS OPEN BEFORE YOU TRAVEL: it closes in high wind and heavy swell and the Bay of Biscay delivers both, and the closure is a safety decision taken on the day. THE 241 STEPS ARE UNEVEN, POLISHED BY USE, OPEN TO SPRAY ON THE LOWER SECTION and slippery in rain. THE WALK IS DOWNHILL FIRST AND THE CLIMB IS AT THE END, which is the part photographs do not convey. There is no shade and no water on the route.
US State Department travel advisory: the Spain advisory. Read the current level there directly rather than relying on a figure printed in any guide.
UK FCDO travel advice: gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/spain, and read the safety and security page rather than only the landing page, because that is where the substance sits.
Main hospital: the nearest emergency department is at Bermeo for minor matters, with the Hospital Universitario de Cruces in Barakaldo, about 50 minutes away, as the major trauma centre for Bizkaia. Dial 112 for an ambulance, and note that a casualty on the islet has to be brought up the steps and along the path. Spain is in the EU, so a UK Global Health Insurance Card or an EU European Health Insurance Card gives you state-provided medically necessary care on the same terms as a resident. That is not the same as free, it does not cover repatriation or a private clinic, and on the islands and the costas many clinics aimed at visitors are private and will bill you, so check before you are treated. Spanish public hospitals are good and a farmacia handles minor problems without an appointment. Tap water is drinkable across the mainland and the Balearics. Heat is the realistic summer health risk rather than anything exotic.
Official health authority: the Spanish Ministry of Health. covers Osakidetza, the Basque health service
US Embassy: the United States Embassy in Madrid.
Official tourism authority: Turespana, the national tourism board. runs the free timed ticket booking, publishes the daily open or closed status of the stairway and the parking arrangements
Takeaways
Book the free ticket. It is capped and it sells out.
Check it is open. Swell and wind close it without notice.
Boots or grippy shoes. The steps are wet and polished.
It is downhill first. The climb is on the way back.
Solo women safety assessment: this is an entirely comfortable place to visit alone. It is a controlled, ticketed site with staff at the visitor centre, a steady stream of visitors on the path in both directions, and no isolated stretch at any point in the season; the Basque coast generally is prosperous, orderly and easy for a woman travelling by herself, and Bilbao as a base is one of the most relaxed cities in Spain for it. 112 REACHES POLICE, AMBULANCE AND FIRE free from any phone including a locked one, and in the Basque Country that connects you to the Ertzaintza. SPAIN'S ADVISORY CONCERNS, pickpocketing in the big cities and the balcony and alcohol problems of the resort strips, have no bearing here at all. WHAT MATTERS IS ENTIRELY PHYSICAL AND IT IS WORTH BEING BLUNT ABOUT. THE 241 STEPS ARE THE HAZARD: uneven, worn smooth by hundreds of thousands of feet, open to Atlantic spray on the lower section, with a drop beside them and a handrail that is present in most places rather than all. They are genuinely slippery in rain and after swell, and the single commonest mistake visitors make is arriving in smooth-soled trainers or sandals because the photographs look like a stroll. Wear something with a sole. Go down facing the steps and not the view. THE SECOND THING IS THE SHAPE OF THE WALK: it is downhill to the bridge and uphill all the way back, with no shade, no water and nowhere to sit, so it is a real hour and a half of effort rather than a viewpoint you drive to, and anyone with knee or cardiac trouble should decide that honestly at the top rather than halfway down. THE THIRD IS THE WEATHER CLOSING IT, which is not a disappointment to be argued with: when the swell is up, the sea breaks over the lower steps and the bridge, and the site shuts. Check before you drive out, carry a waterproof whatever the forecast said in Bilbao, and have the ticket saved offline because the signal is poor.
Reading On
Gaztelugatxe is Bizkaia and Bilbao is the base for it. The Bilbao packing list covers the city 45 minutes away and the San Sebastian packing list the coast east, with the Pamplona packing list for Navarre inland. Across the French border the Bayonne packing list, Biarritz packing list and Saint Jean de Luz packing list cover the same coast and the same weather. West along the Cantabrian shore the Santander packing list, Comillas packing list and Llanes packing list continue into Cantabria and Asturias, with the Fisterra packing list at the far end in Galicia. For the country the Spain travel guide for women and the Spain packing list carry the regions and the transport in full. For why wool suits a climb that ends in standing still in wind, read the guide to merino wool base layers for women. Every destination we cover is indexed at the travel packing guide for women, and the base layers are at the Roman Trail collection.
If the outer journey is calling you, the inner one usually is too. Explore SoulMap at romantrail.com/blogs/soulmap.
