**The Forest** ::HAB 
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After the end of the last Ice Age, the valley of Deba underwent a profound transformation that reshaped its landscape forever. What had once been an open, cold territory inhabited by mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses and other large prehistoric animals gradually gave way to a much milder climate during the Holocene. As temperatures rose, oaks, hazels, ashes and beeches expanded across slopes and valleys, forming the Cantabrian mixed forest that still characterizes the region today. Paleobotanical studies from the Basque coast show how this woodland mosaic created an environment rich in fruit, wood and biodiversity, allowing formerly nomadic groups to settle more permanently, using the forest for shelter, food and hunting.
But “The Forest” was not just an ecological shift; it marked the beginning of a new cultural relationship with nature. In this dense and fertile environment emerged stories, symbols and beliefs that would endure for centuries, including the figure of Basajaun, the mythical lord of the forest in Basque tradition. The forested landscape of Deba became a space where humans and nature evolved together, shaping early paths, settlements and cultural practices that would later define the region’s identity. Today, walking through these forests still reveals traces of that ancient transition that turned a glacial valley into one of the green hearts of the Gipuzkoan coast.
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