Abric de la mostela and Abrigo del Arenal de la fonseca ó Abrigo d
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
513 km
Riding-time estimate
10 h 57
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.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
From Catí it runs 513 km to Catí; allow about 10 h 57 of riding. The stops in between: La Covassa, Castell de Villafamés, Cova de Gargán and Abrigo del Arenal de la fonseca ó Abrigo d. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,350 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Abric de la mostela
The hill country around Albocàsser and Catí, in the north of Castellón province, is a landscape of terraced slopes, almond trees and limestone ravines that few visitors cross on their way from the coast to Morella.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abric de la mostela is where the day begins. Next is La Covassa.
2. La Covassa
Culla sits on a narrow rocky crest in the Alt Maestrat, the inland highlands of Castellón, its houses wrapped around the remains of a castle that once controlled a large swathe of these mountains. The Knights Templar held it in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and the village still has the feel of a lookout, with views in every direction over terraced slopes, stone walls and empty ridges. La Covassa, just below the village, is one of the many rock shelters in this part of Valencia that hold prehistoric paintings, part of the Mediterranean rock art group that UNESCO protects across eastern Spain.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
La Covassa comes up about 46 km into the recorded legs. Next is Castell de Villafamés.
3. Castell de Villafamés
Villafamés announces itself from a long way off: a village of white and ochre houses stacked up a hill of reddish rock, with the remains of a castle crowning the top. It stands a little inland from the coast of Castellón, roughly between Borriol, Cabanes and the beach town of Benicàssim, close enough to the sea that you can smell salt on a westerly breeze turning, yet already in that rumpled hill country that leads up into the Maestrat.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 78 km into the recorded legs you reach Castell de Villafamés. Next is Cova de Gargán.
4. Cova de Gargán
High in the interior of Castellón, where the coastal orange groves are long forgotten and the land climbs toward the Penyagolosa massif, the shelter known as Cova de Gargán sits in a country of limestone ledges, holm oak and dry-stone terraces. Vistabella del Maestrazgo is the nearest village, a handful of kilometres away on its high plateau, with Villahermosa del Río down in its valley to the other side and Lucena del Cid a little further south. It is quiet up here in a way that the coast never is.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cova de Gargán, about halfway. Next is Abrigo del Arenal de la fonseca ó Abrigo d.
5. Abrigo del Arenal de la fonseca ó Abrigo d
The Guadalope river cuts a deep canyon through the limestone of the Maestrazgo in eastern Teruel, and the Abrigo del Arenal de la Fonseca lies in this wild country near the hamlet of Ladruñán, between the villages of Castellote and Cantavieja. It is one of the important rock-art shelters of Aragon, part of the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean prehistoric art, with Levantine paintings of animals and human figures in red pigment on the rock. The setting is spectacular: a narrow gorge with towering cliffs, the river flowing below, and pine and holm oak clinging to the slopes. Access involves a walk, and the paintings are protected by a fence.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 513 km.
Leg by leg
Abric de la mostela to La Covassa
Abric de la mostela → La Covassa is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
La Covassa to Castell de Villafamés
La Covassa → Castell de Villafamés is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Castell de Villafamés to Cova de Gargán
Castell de Villafamés → Cova de Gargán is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cova de Gargán to Abrigo del Arenal de la fonseca ó Abrigo d
Cova de Gargán → Abrigo del Arenal de la fonseca ó Abrigo d is 134 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Abrigo del Arenal de la fonseca ó Abrigo d to back through Cova de Gargán
Abrigo del Arenal de la fonseca ó Abrigo d → back through Cova de Gargán is 134 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Cova de Gargán to back through Castell de Villafamés
back through Cova de Gargán → back through Castell de Villafamés is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Castell de Villafamés to back through La Covassa
back through Castell de Villafamés → back through La Covassa is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through La Covassa to Abric de la mostela
back through La Covassa → Abric de la mostela is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.