The Encartaciones region, formed by ten municipalities, is the most western and the less known point of Bizkaia. It is land of battles between different sides and tower houses, many of them perfectly kept that will take us, magically, to an enchanted past. Its magnificent buildings and very appealing villages with woods, meadows and mountains make of the Encartaciones a unique and spectacular region.

Balmaseda, located on the banks of the river Kadagua, is the main town in the Encartaciones. Witness of pilgrims and traders, the first village of Bizkaia is popular as, at Easter, its inhabitants represent Jesus Christ's Passion. It is famous as well because of its rich cultural heritage. In its main square, with the beautiful church of San Severino and the Town Hall, with a wide colonnade known as La Mezquita (The Mosque), due to the amount of columns that withstand it.

History and Nature

Other areas such as Güeñes, Zalla and Sopuerta have many interesting monuments. The first one, which combines rural and urban areas and houses many palaces worth visiting, such as Arangoiti and Estrada, and the parish church of Santa María, commonly known as "El Sol" (the sun) for its exceptional facade. From there, we will visit the Murga baroque palace, current Town Hall in Zalla, whereas the Assembly House of Avellaneda is located in Sopuerta, a tower-house where in the past the General Assemblies of the ten regions forming the Encartaciones would meet.

Likewise, we can go to Carranza valley, an area with unique beauties such as the Ecological Park of Bizkaia, Karpin Abentura, where we will find different species of wild animals representing the Iberian and European fauna. The caves of Pozalagua are, doubtless, another spot worth visiting, with its spectacular stalactite and stalagmite formations that defy gravity.