Ayala/Aiara

Ayala (Ayala/Aiara) is the largest municipality in the Cuadrilla de Ayala, in Álava. Its territory unfolds across a broad valley of gentle slopes covered in grasslands, meadows and woodland, framed by the Sierra Sálvada — also known as Gorobel — whose main peaks include Tologorri, Ungino and Aro. At the foot of the sierra, a landscape of small hills and valleys is dotted with oak, beech and fir trees alongside farmhouses and scattered rural hamlets.

The municipality holds a significant historical and artistic heritage. Several medieval tower-houses stand across the area, including those of Zuaza and Murga, but the most remarkable site is the monumental complex of Quejana (Kexaa), which belonged to the powerful Ayala family, a lineage closely bound up with the history of this region. The complex brings together a fortified palace, a convent and the tower-chapel of the Virgin of the Cabello, where the alabaster tombs of chancellor Pedro López de Ayala and his wife Leonor de Guzmán are preserved — works of considerable sculptural value.

The combination of a well-preserved natural setting and medieval heritage linked to one of the most influential families in Basque history makes Ayala a municipality of distinct character within the comarca.