page_title: Hernio
section_title: Landscape and human presence
hierarchical_section_title: Hernio / Landscape and human presence
caption_attribution_description: Euskara: Hernioko panoramika Txurrotik English: Panoramic view of Hernio from Txurro Español: Panorámica de Hernio desde Txurro
context_page_description: Hernio is an iconic summit in the Basque Country very popular with the Gipuzkoans and located right at the heart of the province. The peak is the highest point of a massif extending north-west to south-east, the summit rising by the pass of Zelatun. Neighbouring summits lined up NW to SE at the range are mount Gazume standing west across the summit and mount Herniozabal closing the range east at the rear. The villages lying at the feet of the mount are Errezil, Alkiza and Asteasu. The summit of Hernio affords to the NW a beautiful view over Azpeitia and the stone bulk of Izarraitz towering over the town.
context_section_description: Forest abounds in the massif, with various kinds of trees. In the course of the last century Monterrey pine and larch tree have gained ground at the expense of other autochthonous species. On the north face of the mountain range, beech forests cover the steep terrain. In addition, oak and chestnut tree patches may be found, with some birch trees few and far between. There are some grasslands especially at the north-west, at Zelatun and around. Actually, for centuries the pass has borne witness to seasonal migration of cattle from Aralar and even Urbasa to coastal pastures.
  The massif has been inhabited for millennia, as attested in the grotto of Altxerri, where in 1962 wall paintings and rock carvings depicting bison, horses, reindeer, fish and other animals were unearthed.
caption: Panoramic view of Hernio from Txurro
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