Why this ride
535 km from Muro del Alcoy to Muro del Alcoy, about 12 h 21 of riding. On the way it passes Abric de la Penya, Abric del Voro, Barranco del Cabezo del moro and Cueva de la Araña- Abrigo I. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Abric de la Paella and Cueva de la Araña- Abrigo I
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 535 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 12 h 21
- 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. Abric de la Paella
Muro de Alcoy and Cocentaina sit side by side in the valley of the Serpis river, in the Comtat, a district of northern Alicante surrounded by mountains. Cocentaina is crowned by a castle with a tall tower, and below it lies an old town with a palace of the Counts of Cocentaina and a Franciscan convent. The Abric de la Paella, named after the paella pan perhaps because of its shape, lies in the hills between the two towns.
Read the complete Abric de la Paella write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abric de la Paella is where the day begins. Next is Abric de la Penya.
2. Abric de la Penya
Moixent, or Mogente in Castilian, stands at the head of a corridor that has carried traffic between the Valencian coast and the interior of Castile for as long as anyone has been moving goods. The old road, the railway and now the motorway all funnel through here, between low limestone ridges with vineyards and olive groves in the valley floor. The rock shelter known as the Abric de la Penya sits in this landscape a few kilometres from the town, close also to Vallada.
Read the complete Abric de la Penya write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abric de la Penya comes up about 36 km into the recorded legs. Next is Abric del Voro.
3. Abric del Voro
The Canal de Navarrés is a wide valley in the interior of Valencia province, surrounded by limestone mountains and deep gorges, and the Abric del Voro lies in the hills between Quesa and Bicorp, two small villages in the heart of some of the wildest country in the region. It is one of the many rock shelters with prehistoric paintings in the area, part of the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean rock art. The valley's most famous site is close by: the Cuevas de la Araña near Bicorp, where a painting of a figure climbing ropes to collect honey from a wild bees' nest, surrounded by bees, is one of the best-known images of prehistoric art in Spain, often cited as one of the earliest depictions of honey gathering.
Read the complete Abric del Voro write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 85 km into the recorded legs you reach Abric del Voro. Next is Barranco del Cabezo del moro.
4. Barranco del Cabezo del moro
Almansa is one of those towns you see from the motorway and do not stop at, and that is a mistake. Its castle is spectacular, a Gothic fortress built on a sharp limestone outcrop right in the middle of town, looking exactly like a child's drawing of a castle. Around it spreads a wide plain at about seven hundred metres, the meeting point of the Valencian, Murcian and Castilian lands, and a few kilometres out in the surrounding hills lies the ravine known as the Barranco del Cabezo del Moro.
Read the complete Barranco del Cabezo del moro write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Barranco del Cabezo del moro, about halfway. Next is Cueva de la Araña- Abrigo I.
5. Cueva de la Araña- Abrigo I
Bicorp is a small village in the folds of the Valencian interior, west of Xàtiva, in a country of pine, scrub and deep ravines that falls towards the Júcar and the Sierra de Martés. The Cueva de la Araña, the Spider Cave, is one of the most famous rock art sites in Spain, and the main reason to come. In its shelter is a painted scene of a figure climbing a rope or ladder of plant fibre to collect honey from a wild hive, with bees flying around. It is thought to be several thousand years old, and it is one of the finest and most human images of the Levantine rock art, listed by UNESCO in 1998.
Read the complete Cueva de la Araña- Abrigo I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cueva de la Araña- Abrigo I sits at 140 km, about halfway. Next is back through Barranco del Cabezo del moro.
6. back through Barranco del Cabezo del moro
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Barranco del Cabezo del moro write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Barranco del Cabezo del moro comes up about 353 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Abric del Voro.
7. back through Abric del Voro
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Abric del Voro write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 448 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Abric del Voro. Next is back through Abric de la Penya.
8. back through Abric de la Penya
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Abric de la Penya write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Abric de la Penya, late in the day. Next is Abric de la Paella.
9. Abric de la Paella
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Abric de la Paella 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 535 km.
Leg by leg
Abric de la Paella to Abric de la Penya
Abric de la Paella → Abric de la Penya is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abric de la Penya to Abric del Voro
Abric de la Penya → Abric del Voro is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abric del Voro to Barranco del Cabezo del moro
Abric del Voro → Barranco del Cabezo del moro is 90 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Barranco del Cabezo del moro to Cueva de la Araña- Abrigo I
Barranco del Cabezo del moro → Cueva de la Araña- Abrigo I is 74 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cueva de la Araña- Abrigo I to back through Barranco del Cabezo del moro
Cueva de la Araña- Abrigo I → back through Barranco del Cabezo del moro is 104 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Barranco del Cabezo del moro to back through Abric del Voro
back through Barranco del Cabezo del moro → back through Abric del Voro is 95 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Abric del Voro to back through Abric de la Penya
back through Abric del Voro → back through Abric de la Penya is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Abric de la Penya to Abric de la Paella
back through Abric de la Penya → Abric de la Paella is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.