Monte Oiz is one of the most important and celebrated mountains in Basque culture.
It is one of the five Deiadar-Mendiak - visible summits from which messages were sent, summoning members of the local government to meetings. The messages were sent by fire or by a traditional Basque horn.
More recently, in 1985, Monte Oiz was the scene of a plane crash, after a flight from Madrid to Bilbao hit the radar tower at the top of the climb in thick cloud.
From a cycling point of view, Monte Oiz is an excellent climb to ride. The climb from Munitibar follows a delightful narrow road for a few kilometres, before joining up with the
main ascent from Gernika.
The scenery is pleasant throughout, but becomes really spectacular towards the top of the climb, with stunning views all along the coastline. The upper section is extremely challenging, and the last 500m before you reach a small plateau by the wind turbines is one of the toughest stretches of climb that you will ever do on a road bike. However, it is worth peservering here, even if you have to walk, in order to get above the tree line and enjoy the amazing scenery in the last 2km.
Monte Oiz is open throughout the year depending on the weather; it can close in winter for short periods following heavy snowfall.
The top part climbs through impressive open scenery
Roads & Traffic
The road during the first 4km is very narrow but is in good condition. The last 5km are on a corrugated concrete road surface. This used to be quite rough, but prior to the climb being tackled in the 2018 Vuelta a España, the worst bits were
all re-surfaced, and it is now fine for riding on a road bike.
There is little traffic throughout the climb.
The climb begins along a narrow road through the forest.
Spain
