Sarriés / Sartze

Here, where four ravines trace their path towards the Salazar, stone and water weave a tale that never ends. In Sarriés, the air is filled with an ancient calm that dwells in its houses and in the way the landscape opens up and draws in at the same time. It is a place to look at slowly, where daily life and the memory of the nobility beat together under the serene presence of Santa Águeda and Beotegi.

Sarriés general information

The municipality lies in the southern part of the Salazar Valley , at an altitude of 691 metres. Here, the landscape is defined by a subtle transition: the echoes of the Atlantic blend with a drier climate, allowing pine, beech and oak forests to coexist within a single view. For centuries, Sarriés formed part of the valley’s administrative structure, and today it preserves symbols such as the wolf with the lamb, reflecting its livestock-farming roots and a shared identity.

The municipality is divided into two centres that interact with one another through the landscape:  

• Sarriés: situated on the left bank of the River Salazar, where the architecture preserves the valley’s oldest essence.  
• Ibilcieta: forms a settlement where water and tranquillity create a more intimate atmosphere, integrated into the natural surroundings.

What to see in Sarriés?

To explore Sarriés is to read the traces of time in the stone and the water.  

• Parish Church of San Martín: Recognised as the oldest church in the Salazar Valley (dating from around 1200). Inside, the stonework houses a 14th-century Gothic crucifix and a 17th-century Romanesque altarpiece that retains its original polychromy.
• Chapel of Our Lady of Arguiloáin: A building whose architecture invites sensory contemplation and which houses a Romanesque carving of great spiritual value to the community.
• Eclectic civil architecture: The hamlet features examples of Atlantic mountain construction alongside more southern styles.
• Church of Santa María de Ibilcieta: A church of more modern design that blends into the town centre of Ibilcieta, demonstrating the enduring presence of religious architecture in the landscape.
• Natural surroundings: The landscape offers the spectacle of four ravines that empty their waters into the River Salazar, a place for observation where water brings life at every turn