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Route 5. Meatzaldea: Iron and Mountains

5.b. Basque Country Mining Museum and Bodovalle Mine

Bodavalle was the second largest iron mine in Europe with 50 km of excavated tunnels.

Bodavalle was the second largest iron mine in Europe with 50 km of excavated tunnels. Operations ended in 1983 and it closed definitively a decade later. Paradoxically, the last remaining building was expropriated and the town of Gallarta and its slaughterhouse were then turned into what is now the Basque Country Mining Museum, opened in 2001, by the families of former miners.

We recommend going by

  • andar

  • coche

Given its location, it’s best to go in a private vehicle, which will allow you to combine this route with one of the previous routes like la Arboleda or to visit Ziérbena to have a swim and eat some fish and seafood.

The Mining Museum and the mine are close to one another, so you can walk this route

Points of interest

  • Basque Country mining museum

    Basque Country mining museum

    The Basque Country Mining Museum – located in the old slaughterhouse of the neighbourhood of Gallarta, at the feet of the startling worksite of the Concha 2 ...

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  • Bodovalle mine

    Bodovalle mine

    Next to the Basque Country Mining Museum stands the Concha 2 mine, also called Bodovalle, the largest open-pit mining operation in the Basque Country, ...

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Guide in pdf format

Download the Iron River guide.

Downloadguía en formato pdf