The ‘Living Forest’ in the Oma Valley of Biscay, Spain

© Juan Carlos Munoz/Minden Pictures

The ‘Living Forest’ in the Oma Valley of Biscay, Spain

The forest comes alive deep in Spain’s Oma Valley near the Biscay estuary. This is Basque Country, and the local Basque painter, sculptor, and land artist Agustín Ibarrola has created a unique work of land art that combines various motifs—geometric shapes, eyes, rainbows, abstract designs—all painted in bright colours on multiple clusters of trees. Visitors claim that while walking among the trees, the designs create a hypnotic effect and contrast profoundly with the natural surroundings here within the UNESCO-designated Biosphere Reserve of Urdaibai.