Why this ride
From Cocentaina it runs 214 km to Cocentaina; allow about 4 h 14 of riding. It goes by way of Abric de les finestres IV, Barranc de les Coves- Abric I, El Pantanet and Penya roja o Ulls de Canals.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Abric de la Penya Banyà and Penya roja o Ulls de Canals
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 214 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 14
- 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 Penya Banyà
Somewhere in the limestone folds around Cocentaina, under an overhang of rock, people painted small figures thousands of years before anyone here had heard of Rome. The rock shelters of this part of Alicante belong to the great family of Mediterranean rock art that runs down the eastern side of Spain, recognised together by UNESCO, and the Abric de la Penya Banyà is one of these quiet, unassuming sites. Expect faded red pigment on pale stone, often protected behind a grille, and a short walk from the nearest track rather than a visitor centre.
Read the complete Abric de la Penya Banyà 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 Banyà is where the day begins. Next is Abric de les finestres IV.
2. Abric de les finestres IV
Bocairent is a village built on a rock, its old houses clinging to a limestone spur above a ravine in the Serra de Mariola, in the south of the province of Valencia. Across the ravine, in the cliff face, a row of small square openings looks out like windows: these are the Covetes dels Moros, a series of artificial caves cut into the rock, connected by internal passages, whose purpose is still debated. They may have been granaries, refuges or even a monastery, and their name means the little caves of the Moors.
Read the complete Abric de les finestres IV write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abric de les finestres IV comes up about 30 km into the recorded legs. Next is Barranc de les Coves- Abric I.
3. Barranc de les Coves- Abric I
Ibi is the toy capital of Spain, a fact that surprises everyone who rides through this mountain town in the hills of Alicante. Since the early twentieth century, workshops here have produced dolls, tin toys and plastic figures, and the Valencian Toy Museum tells the story. The rock shelter named Barranc de les Coves Abric I lies in the hills between Ibi and Alcoy, in a ravine whose name simply means the gully of the caves.
Read the complete Barranc de les Coves- Abric I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 55 km into the recorded legs you reach Barranc de les Coves- Abric I. Next is El Pantanet.
4. El Pantanet
Few riders have heard of the Serra de Mariola, and that is a pity, because this little limestone range between Alcoi, Bocairent and Ontinyent is one of the most rewarding corners of inland Valencia. El Pantanet, near the village of Alfafara, is a small rock shelter with prehistoric paintings, one of the many sites in the UNESCO listing of the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula. As with most of its sisters, it is protected and access may be limited, but the hills around it reward the trip on their own.
Read the complete El Pantanet write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
El Pantanet, about halfway. Next is Penya roja o Ulls de Canals.
5. Penya roja o Ulls de Canals
This is the country of toys and herbs, an unusual pairing. Onil and Ibi, in the inland hills of Alicante, grew up as centres of toy-making, starting with tin and later plastic, and the local museum in Ibi tells how a mountain valley became a world supplier of dolls and games. On the other side, the Sierra de Mariola, a natural park rich in aromatic plants, supplies the herbs for a local liqueur and for traditional remedies. Bocairent, a handsome old town on a rocky spur, has houses built right at the edge of a gorge and a set of man-made caves carved into the cliff, the Covetes dels Moros.
Read the complete Penya roja o Ulls de Canals write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Penya roja o Ulls de Canals sits at 66 km, about halfway. Next is back through El Pantanet.
6. back through El Pantanet
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete El Pantanet write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through El Pantanet comes up about 129 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Barranc de les Coves- Abric I.
7. back through Barranc de les Coves- Abric I
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Barranc de les Coves- Abric I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 159 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Barranc de les Coves- Abric I. Next is back through Abric de les finestres IV.
8. back through Abric de les finestres IV
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Abric de les finestres IV 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 les finestres IV, late in the day. Next is Abric de la Penya Banyà.
9. Abric de la Penya Banyà
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Abric de la Penya Banyà 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 214 km.
Leg by leg
Abric de la Penya Banyà to Abric de les finestres IV
Abric de la Penya Banyà → Abric de les finestres IV is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abric de les finestres IV to Barranc de les Coves- Abric I
Abric de les finestres IV → Barranc de les Coves- Abric I is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Barranc de les Coves- Abric I to El Pantanet
Barranc de les Coves- Abric I → El Pantanet is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
El Pantanet to Penya roja o Ulls de Canals
El Pantanet → Penya roja o Ulls de Canals is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Penya roja o Ulls de Canals to back through El Pantanet
Penya roja o Ulls de Canals → back through El Pantanet is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through El Pantanet to back through Barranc de les Coves- Abric I
back through El Pantanet → back through Barranc de les Coves- Abric I is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Barranc de les Coves- Abric I to back through Abric de les finestres IV
back through Barranc de les Coves- Abric I → back through Abric de les finestres IV is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Abric de les finestres IV to Abric de la Penya Banyà
back through Abric de les finestres IV → Abric de la Penya Banyà is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.