Abrigo de la Higuera del Barranco de Ester and Recodo de los Chaparros II
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
154 km
Riding-time estimate
3 h 24
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 154 km round trip from Alcaine - roughly 3 h 24 in the saddle. On the way it passes Abrigo de los Trepadores, Recodo de los Chaparros II and back through Abrigo de los Trepadores. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,100 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Abrigo de la Higuera del Barranco de Ester
The Río Martín country of Teruel is a place of deep gorges and bare, honey-coloured hills, and Oliete and Estercuel are two of its tiny villages. The Abrigo de la Higuera del Barranco de Ester is a small shelter in a side ravine, named for the fig tree that grows at its mouth, and it holds paintings that belong to the rock art of the Mediterranean Basin, as protected by UNESCO. The pictures include the small red figures of the Levantine tradition, and the setting, under an overhang of golden rock, is a good place to sit and think about how few things have changed in the landscape.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abrigo de la Higuera del Barranco de Ester is where the day begins. Next is Abrigo de los Trepadores.
2. Abrigo de los Trepadores
The Río Martín runs through the dry hills of Teruel province in northern Spain, and the villages along its banks, Alacón, Oliete and Muniesa among them, are tiny places that seem to belong to a calmer century. The Abrigo de los Trepadores is one of the rock shelters of the area, part of a cultural park that protects the paintings found in the cliffs and gorges of the valley. Many belong to the Levantine tradition, small red figures of hunters and animals, and others are schematic, simple signs and stick-like human forms, painted by later peoples. The paintings can be hard to find without a guide, and access is regulated, so plan ahead.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abrigo de los Trepadores comes up about 43 km into the recorded legs. Next is Recodo de los Chaparros II.
3. Recodo de los Chaparros II
The Río Martín cuts a deep, narrow canyon through the dry limestone of the Bajo Aragón, in the province of Teruel, and the Recodo de los Chaparros, whose name means roughly the bend of the dwarf oaks, sits on that river a few kilometres from Albalate del Arzobispo. The land is rolling and almost treeless, covered in olive groves, almond trees and pale rocky fields, and it can feel like a different planet from the green north of Spain.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Abrigo de la Higuera del Barranco de Ester. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Abrigo de la Higuera del Barranco de Ester to Abrigo de los Trepadores
Abrigo de la Higuera del Barranco de Ester → Abrigo de los Trepadores is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abrigo de los Trepadores to Recodo de los Chaparros II
Abrigo de los Trepadores → Recodo de los Chaparros II is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Recodo de los Chaparros II to back through Abrigo de los Trepadores
Recodo de los Chaparros II → back through Abrigo de los Trepadores is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Abrigo de los Trepadores to Abrigo de la Higuera del Barranco de Ester
back through Abrigo de los Trepadores → Abrigo de la Higuera del Barranco de Ester is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.