San Juan Xar Cave Shrine

A spiritual sanctuary within another natural sanctuary. That is San Juan Xar. An area declared a Nature Reserve in 1987 for housing the only native hornbeam forest or Carpinus betulus, also known as birches, on the peninsula. In addition to the hornbeam, we can see century-old chestnut trees, maples, oaks and ash trees.

In the heart of this unique spot located in the heart of the western Pyrenees, we find a cave-hermitage with a fountain with three jets whose waters, according to popular belief, have miraculous healing powers against skin conditions.

It is tradition that you first drink from each of the pipes and then rub the affected part with a wet cloth. Then, the handkerchiefs are left in the surroundings of the fountain, and later the priest will pick them up and burn them. The custom has been around for a long time, for this reason, before the image of Saint John the Baptist, who today inhabits the cave, arrived here, the prayers and offerings were for the lamiak, nymphs who, according to mythology, inhabited this area since the dawn of the weather.