La Grotte d'Harpéa

The Harpéa cave is a rock shelter in the commune of Estérençuby, in Basse-Navarre, at about 860 m altitude and a few metres from the Spanish border. Its Basque name means "the place under the rock". It occupies the heart of an anticlinal fold: erosion has cleared the soft layers at the centre of the fold, leaving a porch shaped like an inverted V, open on a single hall. This folding of marls and limestones dates from the formation of the Pyrenees, some 40 million years ago.

The cavity has served as a shelter since prehistory and, more recently, as a sheepfold: an enclosure and a sheepfold were built there by shepherds. The site is listed as a natural area of ecological, faunal and floral interest. It is reached only on foot, by an unmarked and rather long path that climbs into the Basque mountains and calls for good fitness.

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