A trans-Pyrenean pass at an altitude of 1,057 m that links Upper Navarre with the former Sixth Merindad de Ultrapuertos, or Lower Navarre. This eminently historic pass is lost in the mists of the High Middle Ages, with milestones such as the Basque victory over Charlemagne and his Twelve Peers (778), the splendor of the Jacobean calendar, the struggles against the Convention, and the Napoleonic invasion. Located 2 km from Orreaga, Roncesvalles is a must-see for visitors to this privileged corner of the Pyrenees, where archaeology, history, legend, and nature merge with particular appeal. It offers magnificent views of both sides, especially the deep ravines of Luzaide, on the Garazi side. It is an exceptional starting point for excursions to the Garabizkai-Orzanzurieta and Lindux-Lauriak massifs. Iba eta also offers ample opportunities for winter sports in winter. At its summit—on the ruins of the hermitage built by Charlemagne in memory of the battle that made the people of these mountains famous—a modern chapel dedicated to Saint Savior was built in 1964.
Fragment of a Roman altar from the 1st century. Roman vulgar pottery and terra sigillata preserved in the Museum of Navarre in Pamplona.
It was an important pilgrim crossing on the Santiago de Compostela Route. It was here that pilgrims converged who, as the 12th-century "Guide" says, did not want to climb the mountain path and preferred to do so via the valley. "Per quam etiam multi peregrini ad Sanctum Jacobum tendentes transeunt, nolentes monten ascendere" (ed. Vieillard, p. 26). From the top they could see the valley that was to evoke fond memories for the French pilgrims: Charlemagne had camped there when the combatants were killed at Roncesvalles; from there Charlemagne heard the echo of Roland's dying horn, etc. In the chapel, pilgrims found a refuge and a hospital. However, this hospital lost its importance when the great elry of Our Lady of Roncesvalles was founded nearby in 1132. Closely linked to the passage of pilgrims was the church of San Salvador de Ibarra. "There," says the pilgrim Domenico Laffi, "we sang a Te Deum to thank God for having led us safely. Before leaving the summit of the High Pyrenees, which we had climbed with so much effort, we rested in the chapel...". Viaggio, p. 124. This chapel was destroyed several times and in the 16th century the visitor Don Martín de Córdoba found it in ruins and ordered it to be repaired, ordering that a bell be placed in it that a hermit was to ring "...from nightfall until one hour before nightfall, each day, to guide the wayfarers and pilgrims who find it nightfall in the said mountains...", Ibarra, Hist., p. 512. As late as the 17th century, pilgrims would often spend the night in Iba eta, descending the following day to Roncesvalles. Ref.: Peregrinaciones a Santiago Madrid, 1949, t. II, pp. 90-92. In 1813, after the Allied troops commanded by General Lord Wellington, Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo, had already entered Navarre, the second battalion of the guerrilla division of Don Francisco Espoz y Mina garrisoned the hermitage of Iba eta, suffering great hardships due to the inclement weather.
Monastery of San Salvador. OSB. Monastery founded perhaps during the Carolingian period. Its first documentary appearance is in 1071 when Sancho de Pealín, King of Pamplona, donated the nobile el regale monasterium nomine Sanctus Salvator de Ibenieta to Don Fortín, Bishop of Alava. In 1110, it was incorporated into San Salvador de Leire under the observance of Cluny. It became the most important and strategically located monastery on the Jacobean routes of the pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela. All the paths of pilgrims who did not want to climb the mountain converged there. Its decline occurred simultaneously with that of the Leire monastery, which sold it to the Priory of Roncesvalles in 1271. In the 16th century, as CM Lpez says, after several destructions and reconstructions, it was in complete decline. Later, it fell into ruins. Ref. CM L fish. Monasteries in "Dic. Hist. Ecles. de Esp.".
Historical pastoral by Junes Casenave Harigile performed in the same setting as the Battle of Roncesvalles, with the Iba eta mountains in the background, by a Souletino group on August 15, 1978.