Abrigo de los Toros del Barranco de las Ol and Cueva de la Peña de la morería
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
139 km
Riding-time estimate
3 h 06
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.
From Tormón it runs 139 km to Tormón; allow about 3 h 06 of riding. It goes by way of Cueva de Doña Clotilde, Cueva de la Peña de la morería and back through Cueva de Doña Clotilde. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,600 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. The line favours views over speed.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Abrigo de los Toros del Barranco de las Ol
The Sierra de Albarracín is one of the highest and emptiest corners of eastern Spain, a limestone and sandstone country at the headwaters of the Tagus and the Turia, and it holds an exceptional concentration of rock art. The Barranco de las Olivanas shelter is one of many painted sites in these hills, and it is part of the Mediterranean Basin rock art listed by UNESCO. The pictures of bulls and hunters belong to a tradition of red paintings made thousands of years ago, though the exact age is still debated, and the shelter is far from the nearest village, so reaching it takes planning and a walk.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abrigo de los Toros del Barranco de las Ol is where the day begins. Next is Cueva de Doña Clotilde.
2. Cueva de Doña Clotilde
The rock art in the Cueva de Doña Clotilde, in the pine forests outside Albarracín, is a little different from the typical Levantine scenes. Painted in white or pale colours rather than the usual red, the figures include schematic human shapes and animals, and they sit on the red sandstone of the Rodeno, a landscape of rust-coloured rocks and maritime pines that is now protected as a cultural park. The shelter is part of the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin listing, and the Rodeno is full of painted shelters, several of which, like the bulls of the Prado del Navazo, can be visited along marked paths.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cueva de Doña Clotilde comes up about 35 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cueva de la Peña de la morería.
3. Cueva de la Peña de la morería
The Sierra de Albarracín is a high, cold, empty land of pine forests, red sandstone and limestone, at well over a thousand metres, and it hides some of the most interesting prehistoric rock art in Spain. The Pinares de Rodeno, a protected landscape of pine forests and red sandstone outcrops near Albarracín, has shelters with paintings of bulls, deer and human figures, included in UNESCO's inscription of the rock art of the Mediterranean Basin. The Cueva de la Peña de la Morería is one of the sites in this region, near the villages of Bronchales and Orihuela del Tremedal, at the foot of the mountains.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Abrigo de los Toros del Barranco de las Ol. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Abrigo de los Toros del Barranco de las Ol to Cueva de Doña Clotilde
Abrigo de los Toros del Barranco de las Ol → Cueva de Doña Clotilde is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cueva de Doña Clotilde to Cueva de la Peña de la morería
Cueva de Doña Clotilde → Cueva de la Peña de la morería is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cueva de la Peña de la morería to back through Cueva de Doña Clotilde
Cueva de la Peña de la morería → back through Cueva de Doña Clotilde is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cueva de Doña Clotilde to Abrigo de los Toros del Barranco de las Ol
back through Cueva de Doña Clotilde → Abrigo de los Toros del Barranco de las Ol is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.