Orienteering

One of the 12 activities you could get with Go Yellow, from €17 per person. Like all of them, you do not find out this is the one until between 48 and 24 hours beforehand.

What is mountain orienteering?

In mountain orienteering the aim is to find control points hidden around the course. Each one has a punch and a riddle: the punch marks your card to prove you found it, the riddle points you to the next one.

You will be taught to use a compass, read a map and pick up a few tricks that make you quicker than the rest. A good way into orienteering, where teamwork and strategy decide who wins.

Activity at a glance

What you need for mountain orienteering

A short briefing before you start.
A qualified specialist instructor.
Public liability and accident insurance.
The kit mountain orienteering needs:
An approved map.
An approved compass.

Duration

This activity lasts about 3 hours.

Price

This activity costs €17 per person and includes the experience and the kit.

Where to go mountain orienteering

Mountain orienteering in Bizkaia

Mountain orienteering in Gipuzkoa

Mountain orienteering in Álava

Mountain season

This kind of activity runs from March to October, because it depends on the weather to be run properly.

Orienteering races

Did you know the sport has produced competitions of its own, such as orienteering races? The idea is to find specific points on the ground using nothing but a compass, a map and a few clues. The map lets you read the ground and work out where the controls are likely to be — provided you can read a map properly, or it is no use at all. The compass matters just as much: it is what gets you oriented in ground you do not know .

Spanish Orienteering Federation (FEDO)

Mountain orienteering has its own governing body in the Spanish Orienteering Federation (FEDO). You can read everything about the sport, including the latest news, on the official site of the Spanish Orienteering Federation (FEDO). There are regional leagues, official rankings, international championships such as the Orienteering World Cup 2021 in Italy, magazines, inclusive orienteering, photographs and video, the federation’s official diary, membership prices, licences and insurance and a good deal more. Particularly useful are the regional federations and affiliated clubs where you can get started.

Foot orienteering has a large place there, as do trail-O, MTB-O and raids. There is a map viewer, compasses and a technical area full of useful things.

It is a whole world, and a growing one, well worth trying — in a group or on your own.

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