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ALAVA - Tourism
> Añana, colours in transition
Añana is the westernmost area of the Basque Country and has many surprises in store for visitors. Mountains of salt, visitations by the Blessed Virgin in the year thousand, 11th and 12th century Romanesque churches without bell towers, the ruins of Roman settlements or a valley that has largely recovered the appearance, the faun and the flora it had in the times of those holy apparitions or when those churches with their bells at ground level were built.
Dating back over 2,800 years, the Iruña-Veleia archaeological site reveals a history that ran from the end of the Bronze Age, eight centuries before Christ, through to the 5th century, with a significant period of trade and urban development during the Roman era.
The Tower of Varona tells us of another historical period, the Middle Ages and the first years of the Renaissance, with a structure that appears to have been designed to follow the lines of a small contemporary castle: a crenellated tower, the ramparts and a water-filled moat that is crossed by means of two small bridges.
The opportunity should not be missed to visit the tiny chapels and churches dotted all over the area; the lake of Caicedo de Yuso, a sanctuary for migrating birds, or the centres of its towns and villages, which are home to such architectural gems.
The valley that lies furthest west in Alava, Valderejo, provides a spectacle that is difficult to witness these days. A place where nature regains control over its environment.
From the Purón River, which flows through the middle, to the rocky crags where vultures, goshawks and Egyptian vultures nest, interspersed with forests consisting of beech, oak, pine and holm oak, which are home to woodpeckers, wild boar, foxes, deer, badgers, squirrels and wildcats.
The Cuadrilla de Añana conceals these and many more treasures.
Treasures prized by those with an interest in nature, history, food and
popular architecture or simply by those who enjoy a good walk in the heart
of the countryside.
www.cuadrilladeanana.es