Why this ride
From Rosell it runs 175 km to Rosell; allow about 3 h 36 of riding. It goes by way of Els figuerals, Roca dels moros and back through Els figuerals. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Abric de la Tenalla and Roca dels moros
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 175 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 36
- 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 Tenalla
The Tinença de Benifassà is one of the wildest corners of the Valencian region, a cluster of tiny villages in the mountains where Valencia, Catalonia and Aragon meet, and the Abric de la Tenalla lies on its southeastern edge, near Rosell. It is one of the many rock shelters in this area with prehistoric paintings, part of the UNESCO-listed rock art of the Mediterranean Basin, and the nearby Serra de Godall and the Ulldecona shelters to the east are among the most important sites in Catalonia. The landscape is dramatic: limestone cliffs, deep gorges, pine and holm oak forests, and abandoned terraces where shepherds once grazed their flocks.
Read the complete Abric de la Tenalla write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abric de la Tenalla is where the day begins. Next is Els figuerals.
2. Els figuerals
The Matarraña, or Matarranya in Catalan, is the corner of Teruel that tourism brochures like to call Spain's Tuscany, and for once the comparison is not silly. Olive groves and almond orchards climb rolling hills topped by stone villages with church towers, while to the south the limestone wall of the Ports de Beseit rises abruptly, cut by gorges and clear rivers. Near the village of Fuentespalda, a painted shelter called Els Figuerals adds this valley to the long UNESCO roll of Iberian rock art.
Read the complete Els figuerals write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Els figuerals comes up about 61 km into the recorded legs. Next is Roca dels moros.
3. Roca dels moros
In 1903, a young man from Calaceite named Juan Cabré, who would go on to become one of Spain's pioneering archaeologists, found painted figures of deer and other animals in a rock shelter in the Calapatá ravine, between Calaceite and Cretas. The Roca dels Moros became one of the first sites of Levantine rock art identified in Spain, and it helped open up a whole new field of study. Today it is part of the UNESCO listing of rock art of the Mediterranean Basin, and a visit here is a small pilgrimage to the beginnings of that story.
Read the complete Roca dels moros write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 86 km into the recorded legs you reach Roca dels moros. Next is back through Els figuerals.
4. back through Els figuerals
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Els figuerals write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Els figuerals, late in the day. Next is Abric de la Tenalla.
5. Abric de la Tenalla
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Abric de la Tenalla write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Abric de la Tenalla. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Abric de la Tenalla to Els figuerals
Abric de la Tenalla → Els figuerals is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Els figuerals to Roca dels moros
Els figuerals → Roca dels moros is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Roca dels moros to back through Els figuerals
Roca dels moros → back through Els figuerals is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Els figuerals to Abric de la Tenalla
back through Els figuerals → Abric de la Tenalla is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.