A forest that charges nothing still asks to be booked in advance, and the number that takes the booking is a provincial council line, +34 94 465 16 57. Nothing about this visit is spontaneous, starting with the paperwork.
Do you need to book the Oma Painted Forest? Yes. The provincial council of Bizkaia requires a booking for the self-guided and the guided visit alike, though entry is free. The approach is 2.8 kilometres on foot from Santimamiñe, about 50 minutes, and 1.5 kilometres more link the 34 painted groups inside.
The Oma Painted Forest is a work by Agustín Ibarrola painted on living pines at Kortezubi, inside the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve.
Booking a forest that costs nothing
Entry is free and a reservation is compulsory anyway, for the self-guided visit and the guided one alike. Bookings and enquiries run through the channels Bizkaiko Foru Aldundia publishes, on +34 94 465 16 57 and at oma@bizkaia.eus, which is also where guided-visit dates are confirmed.
That second point matters to anyone flying in for a weekend: guided visits run on selected dates only, so the guided option is not something to assume on arrival. There is also an official app for the forest, released by the same council.
Bizkaia applies the idea differently at Gaztelugatxe, where the free ticket is compulsory only on controlled-access days and the cap is 1,462 people daily, as set out in the guide to Gaztelugatxe from Bilbao. Two free sites, two booking systems.
The rules, and why they exist
Painted living trees standing outdoors for decades survive because the site is governed rather than simply left open, and its conditions are published as prohibitions rather than as suggestions.
- No touching the painted trees or the paint itself
- No litter, since there is no waste collection on site
- No camping, smoking or fires inside the enclosure
- No cycling through the forest
- Dogs on a lead at all times
- No access in storms or strong wind, with the forecast to be checked on Euskalmet beforehand
One practical warning matters as much as the bans: there are no drinking fountains inside the forest, so water is carried up. A fountain, tables and toilets do exist at the Santimamiñe recreation area beside the car park.
And one that saves a wasted journey: the forest is not adapted for wheelchairs or pushchairs, as published by Bizkaiko Foru Aldundia.
Thirty-four groups on 800 living pines
The forest holds 34 artistic groups spread across roughly 800 radiata pines, painted as geometric figures and motifs directly on the trunks rather than on any surface added to them.
The pieces are not murals in the usual sense. Each group resolves into a single image only from one viewing point, which is why the walk between them belongs to the work rather than merely leading to it.
Their author is Agustín Ibarrola, a Bilbao artist, and the forest is among the best-known works of the art-and-nature movement that emerged in the late 1960s and moved artistic practice out into the landscape itself.
The walk, in numbers
Distance decides this visit far more than price does, because there is no price to weigh. From Santimamiñe to the forest is 2.8 kilometres, about 50 minutes according to Bizkaiko Foru Aldundia, and the return covers the same ground.
Inside the enclosure a further 1.5 kilometres connects the groups, which puts the full outing at roughly seven kilometres on foot before any stops are counted.
There is no motorised shortcut: vehicles are banned from the access track. Cars stop at the end of the BI 4244, where parking sits beside the Santimamiñe visitor point.
| Section | Distance | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Santimamiñe to the forest | 2.8 kilometres | About 50 minutes |
| Art route inside | 1.5 kilometres | Depends on pace |
| Return to the car park | 2.8 kilometres | About 50 minutes |
| Full outing | 7.1 kilometres | Half a day |
Reaching Kortezubi without a car
Public transport does not stop at the forest gate, and the official site documents car access only, so the last leg of the journey has to be pieced together deliberately rather than looked up.
The usable reference is rail. Euskotren’s E4 reaches Gernika in 61 minutes from Bilbao, with the full stop list in the guide to the Bilbao to Mundaka and Bermeo train. From Gernika onwards the link is by road, and the Bizkaibus connection has to be confirmed with the operator rather than assumed.
Bizkaibus fares run from €1.02 to €2.45 by zone with a Barik card, as set out in the guide to getting around Bilbao and Bizkaia. That range is what a Kortezubi day costs in fares, and it is the cheapest part of it.
Planning the visit
- Set on going → book the entry even though it costs nothing
- Travelling with a baby → no pushchair access on the track
- Windy forecast → check Euskalmet, access is banned in strong wind
- Without a car → train to Gernika in 61 minutes, then confirm the road link
- Want a guided visit → they run on selected dates only
- Making a day of it → tables, fountain and toilets sit by the car park
What shares the valley
The forest sits in Kortezubi, inside Urdaibai, sharing its car park and visitor point with the Santimamiñe caves, a UNESCO World Heritage site whose guided visit includes a 3D projection of the painted interior.
Within the same radius are the Urdaibai Bird Center, the Euskal Herria Museoa and, in Gernika-Lumo, the Assembly House and the Peace Museum, free on Saturday afternoons, as covered in the guide to a Gernika day trip.
Two of them in one day is realistic and three is not, because the forest alone absorbs 7.1 kilometres of walking and the better half of the daylight.
Frequently asked questions about the Oma forest
Do you need to book the Oma Painted Forest?
Yes, always. The provincial council of Bizkaia requires a booking for both the self-guided and the guided visit, even though entry is free. Enquiries go to +34 94 465 16 57 or oma@bizkaia.eus.
How far is the walk to the Oma forest?
2.8 kilometres from Santimamiñe, about 50 minutes, and 2.8 back. Inside the forest a further 1.5 kilometres links the artworks, so the full outing is roughly seven kilometres on foot.
Can you drive to the Oma Painted Forest?
No. Motor vehicles are banned from the access track, so the forest is reached on foot only. Cars are left at the end of the BI 4244 road, where there is parking beside the visitor point.
Is the Oma forest accessible with a wheelchair or pushchair?
No. Bizkaiko Foru Aldundia states the forest is not adapted for wheelchairs or pushchairs, and the approach itself is 2.8 kilometres of mountain track before the first painted trees appear. The recreation area beside the Santimamiñe car park does have toilets, tables and a drinking fountain.
What is painted on the trees at Oma?
Thirty-four artistic groups spread across roughly 800 radiata pines, painted by Agustín Ibarrola as geometric figures and motifs on the living trunks. Each group only resolves into an image from one viewing point.
A free artwork you can only reach on foot filters more visitors than any admission price would.