Abrigo del Arenal de la fonseca ó Abrigo d and Roca dels moros
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
276 km
Riding-time estimate
5 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 Tronchón it runs 276 km to Tronchón; allow about 5 h 06 of riding. On the way it passes Cingle de Palanques- Abrigo A, Els figuerals, Roca dels moros and back through Els figuerals. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,350 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Abrigo del Arenal de la fonseca ó Abrigo d
The Guadalope river cuts a deep canyon through the limestone of the Maestrazgo in eastern Teruel, and the Abrigo del Arenal de la Fonseca lies in this wild country near the hamlet of Ladruñán, between the villages of Castellote and Cantavieja. It is one of the important rock-art shelters of Aragon, part of the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean prehistoric art, with Levantine paintings of animals and human figures in red pigment on the rock. The setting is spectacular: a narrow gorge with towering cliffs, the river flowing below, and pine and holm oak clinging to the slopes. Access involves a walk, and the paintings are protected by a fence.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abrigo del Arenal de la fonseca ó Abrigo d is where the day begins. Next is Cingle de Palanques- Abrigo A.
2. Cingle de Palanques- Abrigo A
Els Ports is the high, empty country in the north of Castellón province, a land of stone-walled terraces, deep gorges, juniper and pine, and villages that cling to ridges above the river valleys. Palanques is one of the smallest of them, and above it, in a long cliff band known as the Cingle de Palanques, are shelters with prehistoric paintings, part of the UNESCO Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin. The Levantine paintings here show human figures and animals in the expressive style typical of this coast's mountainous interior, and like most such sites, they are protected and usually visited with a local guide.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cingle de Palanques- Abrigo A comes up about 52 km into the recorded legs. Next is Els figuerals.
3. Els figuerals
The Matarraña, or Matarranya in Catalan, is the corner of Teruel that tourism brochures like to call Spain's Tuscany, and for once the comparison is not silly. Olive groves and almond orchards climb rolling hills topped by stone villages with church towers, while to the south the limestone wall of the Ports de Beseit rises abruptly, cut by gorges and clear rivers. Near the village of Fuentespalda, a painted shelter called Els Figuerals adds this valley to the long UNESCO roll of Iberian rock art.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 111 km into the recorded legs you reach Els figuerals. Next is Roca dels moros.
4. Roca dels moros
In 1903, a young man from Calaceite named Juan Cabré, who would go on to become one of Spain's pioneering archaeologists, found painted figures of deer and other animals in a rock shelter in the Calapatá ravine, between Calaceite and Cretas. The Roca dels Moros became one of the first sites of Levantine rock art identified in Spain, and it helped open up a whole new field of study. Today it is part of the UNESCO listing of rock art of the Mediterranean Basin, and a visit here is a small pilgrimage to the beginnings of that story.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abrigo del Arenal de la fonseca ó Abrigo d closes the day.
Leg by leg
Abrigo del Arenal de la fonseca ó Abrigo d to Cingle de Palanques- Abrigo A
Abrigo del Arenal de la fonseca ó Abrigo d → Cingle de Palanques- Abrigo A is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cingle de Palanques- Abrigo A to Els figuerals
Cingle de Palanques- Abrigo A → Els figuerals is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Els figuerals to Roca dels moros
Els figuerals → Roca dels moros is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Roca dels moros to back through Els figuerals
Roca dels moros → back through Els figuerals is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Els figuerals to back through Cingle de Palanques- Abrigo A
back through Els figuerals → back through Cingle de Palanques- Abrigo A is 58 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cingle de Palanques- Abrigo A to Abrigo del Arenal de la fonseca ó Abrigo d
back through Cingle de Palanques- Abrigo A → Abrigo del Arenal de la fonseca ó Abrigo d is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.