Tafalla lies 30 km south of Pamplona, in the valley of the Zidacos river, which is a tributary of the Aragón.

[2] Traces of human presence in the area date back to the Chalcolithic era, c. 4,500 to 3,700 years ago.

In 1043, the Tafallese helped King García III de Nájera defeat Ramiro I of Aragón in a battle on the fields of Torreta and Barranquiel.

In the Civil War of Navarre, Tafalla first sided with the Beaumont confederacy, defending the rights of Carlos, Prince of Viana.

In 1812 Espoz y Mina retook the city, but in the battle the convent of San Francisco and the fifteenth century Palace were destroyed.