Montori is on the Atharratze-Sorholüz to Olorüe route. Nice with the valley of the Bearn Barétous – small valley of Ibarretto in Suletino – this limit being located at the top of the hill of Montórico. For this flight we will stop at the nice plaza of the fountain that is located in the center of the town of Montori. The water from this source is drinkable and that is quite noticeable, as it is not the case in all cases. Along with the fountain, we will pay attention to the old laundry facilities we call laundries in Suletino.

Fortified church: heritage of religious wars

From this place, we headed towards the church and looked at the House of the People, which was formerly the Cural house, located on both sides of it. In the late 1970s, this house witnessed a very special event, which we tell you apart. As for the church, we realize that this is a fortified building, a characteristic related to the consequences of the religious wars that Montori suffered. In fact, being on the border with Bearn, Montori joined the Calvinist religion by a majority, which was not seen with good eyes by most zuberotarras who were faithful to Catholicism. The Catholic Sulatins, therefore, burned the church of Montorio on two occasions: In 1568 and 1661, the latter was under the command of Matalaz.

This bustling story, however, has given us a beautiful building with a strong bell tower of twenty meters high and eight meters wide. The interior of the church, dedicated to the Holy Mary, is also very beautiful, with a nave of twelve meters height and a wooden altarpiece of golden eighteenth century. Today, this church is presented to us again elegant and admirable, but it had to be rebuilt almost entirely due to the earthquake in Ereta that severely devastated Suma on August 13, 1967.

Continuing through the church and back to the center of the town, from Atharratze-Sorholüz, we will take the main road of Olorüe, to take the road of Barkoxe, which starts at the same height. Right there, a curiosity. At the entrances and exits of the villa is delivered to Suma, of Basque writing, while at the hostel of the bus stop that has established the General Council of Pau... Beroriz's name is also given! Does that mean that in Pau they paid more attention to the Basque name of this people than in Montori?

Silent witness of the old railway

Recalling this question, we will continue on this small road following the road signs named Fumü. Smoü is the largest mountain we have on the left. After passing a small bridge over the Apanize River, on the top of a hill and back to a cross, we will take another small road to the left, following the yellow signs of the Fumü route. Next, near a farm house, we will see a house of picturesque shapes, today used as a refuge for agricultural tools. This building, between Maule-Lextarre and Olorüe, passing through the valleys of Atharratze-Sorholüze and Barétous, operated between 1902 and 1931, an old railway station. Of these former stations only three remain standing in Zuberoa: Zalgizeko, Sorholüz and Montorico.

After crossing the hamlet called Carrère, the road continues to climb with curves on the skirt of Mount Fumü. As we go up, we will enjoy an increasingly broad view, with the people of Montori and Mount Beguze to the south and the mountain of Arbaila to the west. In the southeast, on the other hand, we have the rocks of Argibel, which are an ideal place for climbing. When we reach another network of roads, we take to the right, following the path marked. At the top of the hill, we reached the old town Ürrütigoti. So that the house itself is avoided, we will leave the way and enter a path. After passing by the Ürrütigoiti house, we continue on a very nice path, where the acebos and hazelnuts on both sides will cause us to pass in a real tunnel. After going down the trail a little, we will reach the hill of Errüko, where we will have a great and nice borda to the left.

Down the grassland of Beloke

Be careful here! We leave the yellow road sign that we've followed so far, picking up a dirt path that goes straight and slightly down. There may be a lot of mud at this beginning, but these parts can be easily avoided. Once on the lower side of the east slope of Mount Fumü, we will slowly descend down this dirt road. In a nice plain called Beloke we will rest with the slopes of Saihabiaga, planted with pine trees in front. This road, after all, ends up on a small road and, after opening and closing a barrier, we head to the right.

On this nice little road between Barkoxe and Montori we will travel about three kilometers, enjoying the green sites and clearly discovering that Montori is a town that still has the live cultivation. We will continue straight through all the paths of access that we find and at a given moment we will return on the slope that is provided with a cross. In five or six minutes we will go back to Montori-Berorize. In Montori we will find a grocery store and a bakery, as well as a reputable restaurant called L'Étable.

The route we have defined can be made between an hour and a half and two hours. For those who want to do something longer, on the collado of Erre you can follow the marked itinerary, climbing to the top of Mount Fumü (700 m), lowering its impressive hillside and choosing the Montory direction every time on the road signs you will find. The duration of the tour is about five hours, but it is worth it.