Ryan Leger August 4 2025

San Sebastián is home to many different points of interest, consisting of the old part of the city, La Concha beach, the Monte Igueldo amusement park, and many other notable places. However, when walking through the city, day or night, there is one specific point of interest that is nearly impossible to miss when touring the city; El Sagrado Corazón. This 12 meter (39 feet) tall statue of Jesus is located at the peak of Monte Igueldo, with an unpredictable history behind it.

8:30AM

The day of the hike started like every other Monday since I arrived in San Sebastián, now a little over two weeks now. I woke up, and got ready for my Spanish class at Lacunza language school near old town. I got breakfast, packed some sandwiches that I snagged from the dining hall in the Olarain hotel, and made my way to class via bicycle.

1:00PM

This was our first week using the regular schedule, which meant that I got out class at 1PM. Some days if the weather is nice enough, I go straight to the beach after class, which was the case for today. I spent around an hour on the beach before going back to my room at the hotel and taking a siesta before the hike.

5:00PM
We met for the hike at the bottom of the mountain which is right off the coast of the beach, about a twenty minute bike ride from the hotel. Before we started the hike, Julian showed us a Gastronómica society (Aizepe Elkartea) and explained its relevance to Basque culture. These societies across the Basque country are meant to serve as a meeting place for men to cook food for each other, but recently women are allowed to participate in these communities. About a sixty second walk away from Aizepe Elkartea was a Michelin starred restaurant, with the hefty price of 170 euros for a 5 course meal, not even including drinks. I would love to eat at a Michelin starred restaurant, as I love and appreciate the art of cooking, but after spending the last two weeks spending all my money trying to survive in San Sebastián, I knew I would be better off getting a kebab after the hike

5:20PM
We started the hike with a pretty steep incline, but it was nothing compared to the first hike we did as a group to San Juan, which took all of my energy (and water) out of my body that day, and the day after. The first ten minutes consisted of climbing stone stairs with beautiful views of La Concha and Santa Clara island. The color of the water in San Sebastián is the most breathtaking, beautiful, colorful water I have ever seen in my nineteen years on this earth. I have been here a little over two weeks now, and I still cannot get over how ridiculously beautiful the ocean is here. It has always been my dream to see turquoise water, like how it looks in tropical movies, and now I finally get to live my dream.

6:00PM
We were finally approaching the summit of the mountain after around thirty minutes of hiking up and taking breaks. Along the way, there was a bar with a scenic view of the ocean and the beach, with almost every person sitting down smoking their own cigarette. The bar didn’t have food at the time, as I made sure, because I unfortunately did not eat much before the hike.

A little bit past the hike was the beginning of La Mota Castillo, a 12th century fortress estimated to have begun construction in 1194, almost a thousand years ago! The fortress was strategically placed on the top of Monte Urgull because of its high elevation and ocean access. It remained occupied until the 19th century, after being passed through several monarchs. It is here at the top of La Mota Castillo where the second “Christ the Redeemer” is located. This statue dedicated to Jesus Christ is called “Sagrado Corazón”, which means “the sacred heart”, and it was built and completed in 1950. This forty foot statue of Jesus is maybe, if not the most recognizable landmark in San Sebastián. It is easily seen from anywhere on La Concha, and from most mountain tops in the region. It was definitely one of the first things that I took note of when I had first explored the city.

8:30PM
After discussing the political history of the Basque region, we concluded the hike after around two hours of exploring the top of the mountain. I am very grateful that I was able to see this marvel of construction in San Sebastián, with many beautiful views that I will never forget. And what better way to end the day with watching the sunset on the beach, eating a durum kebab, with a Kalimotxo.