Zumalacárregui took advantage of his knowledge of the terrain to trick his enemy, luring the Liberals to places more suited to the guerrilla tactics of the Carlists than the maneuvers of the Isabeline regulars. The terrain of the battle was laid out as such: leaving Vitoria for the old royal road towards the East, one crosses a plain for 12 kilometers, flanked on the right or South by the foothills of the range of Andia and on the left or North by the range of San Adrián. The Zadorra River, coming from the East, runs close to the range of San Adrián. The plain slopes gently from the south to the north, and rises, almost imperceptibly, towards the east.