Why this ride
From Cullera it runs 412 km to Cullera; allow about 7 h 25 of riding. It goes by way of Cueva de la Clau, Barranc del Xorquet, La Sarga- Abric I and Cueva de los Arcos. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Abric de Lambert and Cueva de los Arcos
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 412 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 25
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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 Lambert
Cullera is not where most people would look for prehistory. It is a busy beach town at the mouth of the Júcar, with high-rise apartments along the sand, a lighthouse on the point and rice fields stretching inland toward the Albufera lagoon. But the town has a mountain at its back, a limestone outcrop crowned by a castle and a sanctuary, and in that rock there are shelters, including the one known as the Abric de Lambert.
Read the complete Abric de Lambert write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abric de Lambert is where the day begins. Next is Cueva de la Clau.
2. Cueva de la Clau
Behind Gandia, the orange groves climb into the folded limestone hills of La Safor, and among the tiny villages there, Palma de Gandía and Ador sit almost touching each other at the foot of the slopes. Cueva de la Clau is one of the many rock shelters in the Valencian hills that form part of the UNESCO-listed Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula, a scattered collection of hundreds of sites where prehistoric people painted hunters, animals, dancers and abstract signs on limestone overhangs.
Read the complete Cueva de la Clau write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cueva de la Clau comes up 38 km in. Next is Barranc del Xorquet.
3. Barranc del Xorquet
Ask a cyclist on the Costa Blanca about Coll de Rates and watch their face change. The pass road climbing from Parcent toward Tàrbena is a pilgrimage for professional teams in winter training, and it lies only a few kilometres from the Barranc del Xorquet, one of the ravines in the tangled limestone hills behind the coast. This is an area rich in prehistoric rock art: the shelters at Pla de Petracos near Castell de Castells hold some of the best examples of the so-called macro-schematic style, big abstract human figures painted in red thousands of years ago, and the ravines around here hide further sites.
Read the complete Barranc del Xorquet write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
77 km in you reach Barranc del Xorquet. Next is La Sarga- Abric I.
4. La Sarga- Abric I
Alcoy, or Alcoi in Valencian, is a city of bridges, built where three rivers meet in deep ravines, in the mountains of northern Alicante. It was one of the cradles of Spain's industrial revolution, with textile and paper mills powered by its rivers, and its streets have fine modernist buildings from that era. It is also famous for its Moors and Christians festival in April, one of the most spectacular in Spain, with parades, music and mock battles in honour of Saint George. The rock shelters of La Sarga lie in the hills about eight kilometres from the city, toward Ibi.
Read the complete La Sarga- Abric I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
La Sarga- Abric I, about halfway. Next is Cueva de los Arcos.
5. Cueva de los Arcos
Behind the Costa Blanca, only a few kilometres from the busy beaches of El Campello and the high-rises of Benidorm, the land climbs steeply into limestone mountains that feel surprisingly wild. The Cabeçó d'Or, a jagged massif above the village of Busot, dominates the area, and its slopes are riddled with caves and shelters. The Cueva de los Arcos is one of the sites in this area included in the World Heritage inscription of the rock art of the Mediterranean Basin, with faint painted motifs on the rock. Nearby, the Cuevas del Canelobre, a huge cave with towering stalactites, is open for visits and is one of the most impressive show caves in the region.
Read the complete Cueva de los Arcos write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cueva de los Arcos sits at 153 km, about halfway. Next is back through La Sarga- Abric I.
6. back through La Sarga- Abric I
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete La Sarga- Abric I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through La Sarga- Abric I comes up 191 km in. Next is back through Barranc del Xorquet.
7. back through Barranc del Xorquet
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Barranc del Xorquet write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
230 km in you reach back through Barranc del Xorquet. Next is back through Cueva de la Clau.
8. back through Cueva de la Clau
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cueva de la Clau write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Cueva de la Clau, late in the day. Next is Abric de Lambert.
9. Abric de Lambert
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Abric de Lambert 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 412 km.
Leg by leg
Abric de Lambert to Cueva de la Clau
Abric de Lambert → Cueva de la Clau is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cueva de la Clau to Barranc del Xorquet
Cueva de la Clau → Barranc del Xorquet is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Barranc del Xorquet to La Sarga- Abric I
Barranc del Xorquet → La Sarga- Abric I is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
La Sarga- Abric I to Cueva de los Arcos
La Sarga- Abric I → Cueva de los Arcos is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cueva de los Arcos to back through La Sarga- Abric I
Cueva de los Arcos → back through La Sarga- Abric I is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through La Sarga- Abric I to back through Barranc del Xorquet
back through La Sarga- Abric I → back through Barranc del Xorquet is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Barranc del Xorquet to back through Cueva de la Clau
back through Barranc del Xorquet → back through Cueva de la Clau is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cueva de la Clau to Abric de Lambert
back through Cueva de la Clau → Abric de Lambert is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.