The principal attraction resides in that in his term, and on the foot of the Milky Way, one raises of more emblematic monasteries of the route jacobea. The monastery of Irache. Preserve most of the monumental set that was constituting the monastery. His splendid Church of Santa Maria the Real one and other monastic dependencies must be known by everything that Estella approaches to Earth. The entry is free. In the future, the edifico of the University will be a head office of Ethnological museum Expensive “Julio Baroja ”.
Recognized there are the wines of this area and example of it they it give them Wine vaults of Irache.

Monastery of Irache:
On the foot of Montejurra very next to Estella, this one raises monastery which name comes from the Basque word Iratze that means fern. This plant had to be abundant in the place when, in the second half of the XIth century, the Benedictine ones initiated the construction of this set on previous other of the VIII.th century It is a question of an immense mass of medieval buildings, Renaissance and baroque. At present XII preserves the church benedicitina, the plateresque cloister, the tower of style herreriano and other dependencies constructed in the epoch in which it lodged a university (1569-1824).

The Monastery of Irache is one of the most valued institutions and ancient of Navarre and the first written texts that document his existence date of the year 958. It was in the first half of the XIth century when, to instances of king García that of Nájera, abbot Munio ordered to construct the hospital of pilgrims of the monastery to help pilgrims and other nations. Apparently this was the first hospital of Navarre in the one that was taking refuge pilgrims and up to one century later the Roncesvalles hospital was not constructed.

His location in the Milky Way joined in the favors that they granted the different monarches did of him one of more important monasteries of the kingdom. From the whole set he emphasizes the monumental Romanesque temple initiated in the XIIth century on remains of a previous church prerrománica.

The church is of plant of Latin cross of three ships and cruise, and in his center raises a big dome. Three apses semicircular are witnesses of the primitive construction and from them he emphasizes head office for his wonderful cornice perfectly preserved and adorned with infinity of animals.

One can gain access to the temple for two Romanesque fronts: that of San Pedro and the principal one, in addition to the door “Preciosa ” that communicates with the monumental Renaissance cloister. Constructed in the XVIth century, is a miscellany of ogival and plateresque style and it measures 37 meters of length for 32 wide one. In the northeastern angle of the cloister the access door is opened for the so called church of the monastery Beautiful. The name is due to the fact that in all the abbeys benedicitinas there existed in the cloister a door devoted to the Virgin, who was calling Beautiful because in the principal Marian festivities, the abbot and the community was placed before the above mentioned door and was intoning it there antiphon “Speciosa facta est ”. The door, that the state survives in good , is of semicircular arch. In his central part figure of the Salvador appears and on her a niche rises in whose center is Maria's image. The monastic vestry constructed itself in the XVIth century, as the chapter room of square plant, with veined vault decorated with smooth medallions, without sculpture of no class.

That of Irache is one of the big Navarrese medieval monasteries and, in contrast to others like the Olive or Iranzu, it was always inhabited, what avoided his ruin and allowed to survive in much the good state. Nevertheless, the vocations scarcity provoked the march of the friars in 1985 and since then, it is uninhabited. Nevertheless, the visitors think in Carmelo, the caretaker that for 35 years it takes care of the monastery, a good reference for to know the history of this monumental set.

For nine centuries, the apse of the temple there was presided for image of Our Lady of Irache (XIIth century), one of more beautiful examples of the Romanesque Marian religious images of Navarre. Wood is of , one meter high and silver is covered by a sheet of , quite except the face and the hands. (Source I Govern of Navarre).