The valley provides the access to the French Basque regions of Lapurdi and Lower Navarre by means of the Izpegi Pass and Dantxarinea [es].

Early in the 15th century the Baztan people earned their freedom from nobility as a consequence of their legendary bravery in the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa.

[citation needed] This gave them a right to self-rule, with several important consequences: It strengthened territorial organization and helped demographic balance by preventing migration into a valley with limited resources, the major exception being the Agotes (cf.

Exhausted and starving, the remaining 200 Basque knights finally surrendered to forces who vastly outnumbered them (circa 6,000 infantry), led by the Count of Miranda and loyal to the new emperor Charles V. One of the knights resisting in Amaiur was a brother of Francis Xavier, patron saint of Navarre and of Baztan blood.

Its ruins and ramparts are now exposed after being unearthed by an archaeological survey (Society Aranzadi) financed by popular subscription.