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.
From Nerpio it runs 268 km to Nerpio; allow about 4 h 32 of riding. On the way it passes Cueva de las Palamas, Cueva del Tio Labrador and back through Cueva de las Palamas. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,400 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. The line favours views over speed.
Scenic road chapters
Abrigo de la Llagosa → Cueva de las Palamas
This part of the ride is 68 km of Abrigo de la Llagosa → Cueva de las Palamas.
Chapter facts
Length
68 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Abrigo de la Llagosa
The upper Segura valley, south of Nerpio, is a world of cliffs and reservoirs, and the place called La Llagosa lies in the middle of it. This is the Sierra de Segura, a limestone massif that forms part of one of Spain's biggest natural parks, the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas, a UNESCO biosphere reserve. It is a land of pine forest and rocky ridges, where the Segura and its tributaries cut deep valleys, and the landscape is dotted with small villages like Yeste and Letur, whose white houses cluster on rocky spurs.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abrigo de la Llagosa is where the day begins. Next is Cueva de las Palamas.
2. Cueva de las Palamas
Cehegín, in the north-west of the Murcia region, is a town of two faces: a modern lower town, and an old town on a hill, with steep streets, noble houses and churches, declared a historic site. The Cueva de las Palomas, the cave of the doves, lies on the edge of the town, less than a kilometre from the centre, with the larger town of Caravaca de la Cruz about five kilometres away.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cueva de las Palamas comes up about 68 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cueva del Tio Labrador.
3. Cueva del Tío Labrador
Vélez-Rubio is a larger and busier place than its neighbour Vélez-Blanco, with seven thousand people, a lively main street, and a church that is a surprise in a town this size. The Church of the Encarnación, begun in the eighteenth century, has twin towers and a massive Baroque façade, usually described as the largest Baroque church in Almería, and its bulk dominates the roofs. It is a good place to start before riding up toward the mountains, because the fuel stations here are the nearest reliable ones for a long way.