Photo : Squirs / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
La Corniche Basque
The Basque corniche is a protected natural area on the Atlantic coast, extending over the communes of Ciboure, Urrugne and Hendaye. It runs about six kilometres between the port of Socoa and the beach of Hendaye and covers some 445 hectares of varied landscapes. Its cliffs are formed of flysch, a sedimentary rock whose strata, highly visible, are laid bare by erosion.
The site brings together several curiosities: the Pointe de Socoa, the Basque fish pools, hiking trails with views over the coast and the Abbadia estate, which covers 65 hectares. Offshore, one or two kilometres from the shore, breaks the Belharra wave, a big-swell spot known to surfers since 2002 whose waves can reach about twenty metres.
The coastal path that ran alongside the departmental road 912 has been closed since 2021 because of erosion and the risk of falling rocks. The road itself is threatened by the retreat of the cliff, which makes the corniche a site closely monitored by scientists.
