Gamarthe

Gamarthe is a small commune in the Pyrenees-Atlantiques department, situated on the Via Podiensis between Ostabat and Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. The village occupies the enclosed Basque valley terrain of the final approach to the Pyrenees, where the hills close in and the mountain chain ahead becomes increasingly prominent.

The surrounding landscape is the green, fern-covered Atlantic Basque interior, with white-and-timber farmhouses on the hillsides and the valleys becoming narrower as the route approaches the Pyrenean foothills. For pilgrims, Gamarthe is one of the last Basque stages before Saint-Jean.