Why this ride
From Valencia it runs 217 km to Valencia; allow about 3 h 07 of riding. The stops in between: Covacha del Barranc del Diable, Covacha Picayo- abrigo l, Covacha Picayo- abrigo II and Barranc de la falaguera- Abric I.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Valencia afternoon · Barranc de la falaguera- Abric I
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 217 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 07
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Valencia
Valencia has a river that is no longer a river. After a catastrophic flood in 1957, the Turia was diverted around the south of the city, and the old riverbed, which runs through the centre in a long curve, was turned into a park, a green ribbon of nearly nine kilometres filled with gardens, sports fields, bridges and playgrounds. It is one of the best urban parks in Europe, and it ends at the City of Arts and Sciences, the fantastic white complex of buildings and pools designed by the local architect Santiago Calatrava, which looks like a fleet of spaceships moored in a lake.
Read the complete Valencia write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Valencia is where the day begins. Next is Covacha del Barranc del Diable.
2. Covacha del Barranc del Diable
Puçol is a modest, busy town on the coast north of Valencia, famous locally for its orange groves, its beach and its long sandy shore. Inland from it the land rises quickly into the Sierra Calderona, a low range of pine, rosemary and dry gullies. The Barranc del Diable, the Devil's Ravine, is one of many small ravines cut into the foothills, and the covacha, a shallow cave, holds a few rock paintings from the Levantine tradition. These belong to the Mediterranean-arc rock art UNESCO listed in 1998, and they are typically small, red and easy to miss unless a guide shows you where to look.
Read the complete Covacha del Barranc del Diable write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Covacha del Barranc del Diable comes up about 27 km into the recorded legs. Next is Covacha Picayo- abrigo l.
3. Covacha Picayo- abrigo l
Hannibal is the name that should come to mind as you ride toward this part of the Valencian coast. In 219 BC the Carthaginian general besieged the Iberian city of Saguntum, now Sagunto, just north of Puçol, and the eight-month siege that followed set off the Second Punic War. The city fell, and Rome declared war. The castle that crowns the hill at Sagunto today is a long, thin fortress with Roman, Moorish and medieval layers, and its Roman theatre has been restored to a degree that some people find controversial but nobody finds dull.
Read the complete Covacha Picayo- abrigo l write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 50 km into the recorded legs you reach Covacha Picayo- abrigo l. Next is Covacha Picayo- abrigo II.
4. Covacha Picayo- abrigo II
The Sierra Calderona is the wooded ridge behind Valencia's northern suburbs, and it is the best surprise on this coast. It is a natural park of pine, holm oak and rosemary, with low summits, deep ravines and a sense of space that is hard to believe so close to a large city. Wild boar wander the slopes, along with foxes, genets and a growing population of birds of prey, and in spring the slopes are full of orchids and cistus flowers.
Read the complete Covacha Picayo- abrigo II write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Covacha Picayo- abrigo II, about halfway. Next is Barranc de la falaguera- Abric I.
5. Barranc de la falaguera- Abric I
Alginet sits in the Ribera Alta, the flat, fertile plain south of Valencia where the Júcar river spreads out among orange groves, rice fields and small towns. To the west, the plain meets the first hills of the interior, low ridges of limestone covered in pine and scrub. The Barranc de la Falaguera, the ravine of the fern, cuts into these hills near Alginet, Alfarp and Benifaió.
Read the complete Barranc de la falaguera- Abric I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Barranc de la falaguera- Abric I sits at 86 km, about halfway. Next is back through Covacha Picayo- abrigo II.
6. back through Covacha Picayo- abrigo II
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Covacha Picayo- abrigo II write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Covacha Picayo- abrigo II comes up about 187 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Covacha Picayo- abrigo l.
7. back through Covacha Picayo- abrigo l
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Covacha Picayo- abrigo l write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 188 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Covacha Picayo- abrigo l. Next is back through Covacha del Barranc del Diable.
8. back through Covacha del Barranc del Diable
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Covacha del Barranc del Diable write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Covacha del Barranc del Diable, late in the day. Next is Valencia.
9. Valencia
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Valencia write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 217 km.
Leg by leg
Valencia to Covacha del Barranc del Diable
Valencia → Covacha del Barranc del Diable is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Covacha Picayo- abrigo II to Barranc de la falaguera- Abric I
Covacha Picayo- abrigo II → Barranc de la falaguera- Abric I is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Barranc de la falaguera- Abric I to back through Covacha Picayo- abrigo II
Barranc de la falaguera- Abric I → back through Covacha Picayo- abrigo II is 76 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Covacha del Barranc del Diable to Valencia
back through Covacha del Barranc del Diable → Valencia is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.