The Irati Forest ( French : Forêt d'Iraty ; French pronunciation: [fɔʁɛ diʁati] ; Spanish : Selva de Irati ； Basque : Iratiko oihana ), found in the western Pyrenees , covers 17,300 ha (43,000 acres) of the Navarre region, astride on the Soule ( Larrau ) and Basse-Navarre ( Mendive and Lecumberry ) provinces (France) and Navarre (Spain), framed by Mount Okabe (1,466 m) and Pic d'Orhy (2,017 m). It is the second largest and best preserved mixed beech-fir forest in Europe.
8-775: Located in a scarcely populated area, it has maintained a wild and mysterious aspect, fueled by many old Basque legends . The access route was only built in 1964. Its name comes from the Irati river , which crops up from the meeting of the Urtxuria and Urbeltza. For the most part, the Irati Forest shares the flora and fauna of the Pyrenees. Birds found in the area include goldcrests , chaffinches , robins , black woodpeckers , and white-backed woodpeckers . Notable mammals include foxes , wild boar , martens , and roe deer . Smaller mammals include
16-580: The Bidasoa valley are creatures of Basque mythology . They were giants who built dolmens or harrespil . Like the dolmens, they are only found in mountains. They are often associated with lamia , though these are known in all the Basque Country . Mairu could mean " moor " in Basque. This term is used with the sense of 'non-Christian' to refer to former civilizations or megalithic monuments. The origin of
24-734: The Lusitanians and Celtiberians seem to have a significant Basque substrate in their mythologies. This includes the concept of the Enchanted Mouras , which may be based on the Mairu , and the god Endovelicus , whose name may come from proto-Basque words. After Christianization, the Basques kept producing and importing myths. Mairu Mairu (plural: mairuak ), also called Maideak , Mairiak , Saindi Maidi (in Lower Navarre ), Intxisu in
32-448: The ancient Basques largely did not survive the arrival of Christianity in the Basque Country between the 4th and 12th century AD. Most of what is known about elements of this original belief system is based on the analysis of legends, the study of place names and scant historical references to pagan rituals practised by the Basques. One main figure of this belief system was the female deity Mari . According to legends collected in
40-429: The area of Ataun , the other main figure was her consort Sugaar . However, due to the scarcity of the material, it is difficult to say if this would have been the "central pair" of the Basque pantheon . Based on the attributes ascribed to these mythological creatures, this would be considered a chthonic religion as all its characters dwell on earth or below it, with the sky seen mostly as an empty corridor through which
48-427: The divinities pass. The main sources for information about non-Christian Basque beliefs are: Urtzi may have been a Basque mythological figure—a sky god —but may have been merely a word for the sky. There is evidence that can be read as either supporting or contradicting the existence of such a deity. To date, neither theory has been entirely accepted. The Iberian Peninsula's Indo-European speaking cultures like
56-446: The red vole , gray dormouse , and shrew , as well as the polecat and badger . The primary tree species are beech and silver fir .The forest is also home to linden , hazelnut , elm , willow , maple , boxwood , and juniper trees, and rarely yew . Other plants are ferns , lichens , moss , and sloe , and well as rare herbaceous plants such as narcissus and winter bell . Solitary oaks , which used to be more common in
64-625: The region, are still found in the area. Despite being an intervened forest, it maintains a high degree of maturity, with a high diversity of environments that encompasses forests, wetlands, montane and subalpine meadows of the cervico ( Nardus stricta ), rocky, moor and scrubland, the Atlantic heaths with blueberry and argoma ( Ulex gallii ) or gorse ( Genista hispanica subsp. occidentalis ). 43°00′00″N 1°05′00″W / 43.0000°N 1.0833°W / 43.0000; -1.0833 Basque mythology The mythology of
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