San Juan de Gaztelugatxe is located near Machichaco cape between Bermeo and Bakio on a small peninsula connected to land only by a steep stone stairway, destroyed by the sea time after time, is the ancient hermitage of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe. This is the first place that can be spotted when returning from the sea and a religious center surrounded by myths for the arrantzale (fishermen).
The hermitage bell warned sailors of approaching storms; and the interior, presided over by a statue of Christ, was filled with votive offerings in gratitude for having eluded a shipwreck. San Juan thus became a place of pilgrimage and miracles. The surrounding rocks are part of the many legends, and in the caves below the hermitage, the Inquisition locked up people accused of witchcraft.
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe is one of the most stunning sights in the Basque Coast, especially when enveloped in fog, and still exerts a special fascination.