La Rioja. Ebro Region. In its broad and comprehensive geographical sense, this is the region the foothills of the Iberian Mountains to the south and the Cantabrian mountain range to the north, divided into two parts by the river Ebro. This purely Riojan area, following the south-eastern course of the Ebro, is followed by another Navarre-Riojan area, with similar production characteristics, Logroño, Viana and Alfaro (L), on both banks of the Ebro. The Rioja Alavesa area of La Rioja (Rioja alavesa) is on the left bank of the Ebro and has Laguardia and Labastida as its centres. To see this extensive area of Alava, we leave Vitoria to the south, cross the mountains of Vitoria and enter Treviño until we cut through the middle of the Ayuda basin. We climb up to Peñacerrada and the Cantabria mountain range, until we reach the Herrera pass. A few metres away is the Mirador de la Rioja viewpoint. Leaning on its balcony, we can admire a vast landscape with the eastern Rioja Alavesa at our feet. To enter this privileged land, the Ebro, in a millenary task, has cut through the buttresses of the Toloño mountain range (continuation of Cantabria) and entered the Rioja through the Conchas de Haro. We have reached Laguardia, perched on its mountain. To travel through this great area is to delight in its endless vineyards, squares of artichokes, the remains of golden wheat , carpets of fodder, rows of olive trees and orchards of fruit trees.