Lezama

Right now in Lezama (as of October 2026)

• Hostel closed: The pilgrim hostel is only open from 1 June to 30 September. In autumn and winter the only options in the village are country houses with double rooms.

How long to stay?

An afternoon is enough. Lezama is a place to arrive and rest after the hills beyond Gernika. You can see the tower, the church and the chapel on a short walk. The city that deserves a longer stop comes tomorrow.

Lezama in Ninja numbers

• 712.4 kilometres are still left from here to Santiago de Compostela on the Camino del Norte.
• 19.7 kilometres from Gernika, but with 638 metres of climbing. The stage is only short on paper.
• 12.7 kilometres is all that's left to Bilbao tomorrow. You can be there by midday.
• 1360 is when Pedro Ruiz de Lezama had the village's tower house rebuilt.
• 20 beds in the pilgrim hostel, and you can't book. First come, first to sleep.

Arriving: after the hills, into the valley

Behind Gernika you have three climbs behind you, the last a steep one to the day's highest point at 362 metres. Then it's downhill on forest tracks and roads, past Larrabetzu, and along a road into Lezama. The hostel is about 200 metres off the route, from the roundabout at the end of the village.

In brief: a village before the city

Lezama lies in the Asúa valley, only a few kilometres before Bilbao, and was once a parish of its own in the Merindad de Uribe. From the Middle Ages a tower house remains, built by a noble family bearing the village's name and later sold to the lords of Butrón. Football fans know the name for another reason: Athletic Bilbao trains in Lezama, and the club's training ground bears the village's name.

The tower in the valley: what to see

Three buildings, all in the Aretxalde district or nearby.

• Torre de Lezama: A square tower house, probably from the 11th century. Pedro Ruiz de Lezama had it rebuilt in 1360. It recalls that the land before Bilbao was long ruled by noble families in fortified houses. We found no confirmed interior visits; you see it from outside.
• Iglesia de Santa María: The parish church dates from the 16th century; later alterations added Renaissance and Baroque forms. Inside are a Baroque altarpiece and a choir under a flat arch. We found no Mass times.
• Humilladero del Santo Cristo: This small 17th-century chapel with a porch and a bell gable is considered by many the most beautiful church in the Txorierri. It stands in Aretxalde.

Honestly

• The hostel is only open in summer. From October to May you're left with country houses with double rooms from around €60.
• The stage from Gernika is harder than the number suggests. Just under 20 kilometres, but three steep climbs.
• No proper kitchen. The hostel only has a microwave and a fridge. If you want to cook, this isn't the place.

Where pilgrims sleep

The Albergue de peregrinos de Lezama is in the Uribarri Topalekua community centre in the Barrio Garaioltza. It belongs to the municipality, is looked after by volunteer hospitaleros from Bizkaia and has taken in pilgrims since 2009. 20 places in one room, donation-based; count on about €10. Open from 1 June to 30 September, check-in from 15:00, no bookings. There's a microwave, fridge, washing machine and dryer, but no proper kitchen.

Lezama also has three private places to stay with double rooms from around €60 to €90, two of them open all year.

Ninja tips

• Don't arrive too late. 20 beds, no bookings: in summer your arrival time decides.
• Bring food that doesn't need a stove. The hostel only has a microwave.
• Shop in Larrabetzu. Coming from Gernika there's hardly anything before it.
• Set off early for Bilbao. With 12.7 kilometres you're in the city by late morning and have the whole day there.

Onward: to Bilbao

Via Zamudio (km 186.4) it climbs once more, to 354 metres at kilometre 190.9, then down into Bilbao. 12.7 kilometres with 434 metres up and 456 metres down.

What awaits you tomorrow

Bilbao, the first big city on the Camino del Norte since San Sebastián. After days over hills and through villages, you arrive by midday.

Deep dive: A tower before the city

A short read, in case you want to learn more about Lezama. About two minutes' reading.

The lords of the valley

Before Bilbao became a big city, the land around it was in the hands of noble families. They did not live in castles but in towers of stone, square and massive, built for defence. One such tower stands in Lezama. It probably goes back to the eleventh century. In the year 1360 Pedro Ruiz de Lezama had it rebuilt, a man who bore the name of the place. Later the tower passed to the lords of Butrón, one of the powerful families of Bizkaia.

Church and chapel

In the sixteenth century the people of Lezama built their parish church of Santa María. A century later a small chapel was added, a humilladero, a place where people bowed before the cross. Many consider it the most beautiful church in the Txorierri, the area Lezama belongs to.

What Lezama gives you

Lezama is not a place where you stay. It is a place where you catch your breath. Behind you lie the hills of Gernika, ahead of you lies a big city. When this text was written, in autumn 2026, pilgrims slept here in summer in a community centre, on a donation basis, looked after by volunteers. Perhaps that is the best preparation for a city: a night among people who want nothing from you.