Abric mas de los Perez and La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
295 km
Riding-time estimate
6 h 03
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.
A 295 km round trip from Sacañet - roughly 6 h 03 in the saddle. The stops in between: Balma de la fabriqueta, Peñón de Santo Espíritu, La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia and back through Peñón de Santo Espíritu. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,050 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Abric mas de los Perez
Between the Turia and the Palancia rivers, northwest of Valencia, the land rises into a maze of limestone mountains, pine forest and small villages that rarely see foreign visitors. The Abric del Mas de los Pérez is a rock shelter in the hills near Andilla, Viver and Alcublas, one of hundreds of painted sites in eastern Spain listed by UNESCO as part of the rock art of the Mediterranean Basin. These shelters were decorated by hunter-gatherers and early farmers thousands of years ago, and while some feature vivid hunting scenes, many are faint and hard to see without a trained eye. Respect any fences and signs, and never wet or touch the rock.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abric mas de los Perez is where the day begins. Next is Balma de la fabriqueta.
2. Balma de la fabriqueta
The Serra Calderona is the green ridge that rises north-west of Valencia, separating the city's plain from the valleys of the interior. It is a natural park of pine forest, cork oak and rocky hills, close enough to the city for weekend walkers and riders, yet surprisingly wild once you get into it. The rock shelter of Balma de la Fabriqueta lies near the village of Olocau on its southern side, one of the painted shelters that make up the Levantine rock art inscribed by UNESCO. Access to many of these sites is restricted or guided, so check with the local tourist office before trying to visit.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Balma de la fabriqueta comes up about 53 km into the recorded legs. Next is Peñón de Santo Espíritu.
3. Peñón de Santo Espíritu
Behind the orange groves of the Camp de Morvedre, a few kilometres inland from Sagunto, the land rises into the Sierra Calderona, a low range of pine woods, scrub and red sandstone that separates the coastal plain from the dry interior. The Peñón de Santo Espíritu is a rocky outcrop in these hills above the village of Gilet, and it carries prehistoric rock art in the Levantine tradition, the style of painted hunters, animals and human figures found in shelters along the Mediterranean side of Spain and listed by UNESCO as the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula. The paintings are fragile and often protected, so do not expect to wander up and touch anything.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 109 km into the recorded legs you reach Peñón de Santo Espíritu. Next is La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia.
4. La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia
In the heart of Valencia's old town, a Gothic building with crenellated walls and gargoyles looks more like a castle than a market, and that was rather the point. The Lonja de la Seda, the silk exchange, was built in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries when Valencia was one of the richest cities in the Mediterranean, and it was meant to show the power of its merchants. Its great hall, the Sala de Contratación, is one of the masterpieces of late Gothic architecture, with slender columns that twist like palm trunks up to a ribbed vault. It was listed by UNESCO in 1996.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abric mas de los Perez closes the day.
Leg by leg
Abric mas de los Perez to Balma de la fabriqueta
Abric mas de los Perez → Balma de la fabriqueta is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Balma de la fabriqueta to Peñón de Santo Espíritu
Balma de la fabriqueta → Peñón de Santo Espíritu is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Peñón de Santo Espíritu to La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia
Peñón de Santo Espíritu → La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia to back through Peñón de Santo Espíritu
La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia → back through Peñón de Santo Espíritu is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Peñón de Santo Espíritu to back through Balma de la fabriqueta
back through Peñón de Santo Espíritu → back through Balma de la fabriqueta is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Balma de la fabriqueta to Abric mas de los Perez
back through Balma de la fabriqueta → Abric mas de los Perez is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.