Abrigo del Cerro de Barbatón and Cueva de la Plata
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
334 km
Riding-time estimate
7 h 07
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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 Letur it runs 334 km to Letur; allow about 7 h 07 of riding. It goes by way of L. Tello I. Cama del Pastor, Cueva de la Plata and back through L. Tello I. Cama del Pastor. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,200 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. The line favours views over speed.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Abrigo del Cerro de Barbatón
Barbatón is a hill, and the Cerro de Barbatón a rounded bump of limestone that rises above the farmland between Letur and Socovos, in the south of Albacete. The shelter at its foot, catalogued as the Abrigo del Cerro de Barbatón, is twelve kilometres from Letur and fourteen from Socovos, which tells you right away that this is rural country with long distances between villages. The paintings in the region belong to the Levantine rock art that UNESCO recognised in 1998, and they include some of the finest and best preserved in Spain.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abrigo del Cerro de Barbatón is where the day begins. Next is L. Tello I. Cama del Pastor, 62 km on.
2. L. Tello I. Cama del Pastor
In the mountains of northern Almería, near the village of Vélez-Blanco, the Cueva de los Letreros holds a small painted figure that has become the symbol of the province: the Indalo, a human figure holding an arc over its head, which locals paint on houses as a good luck charm. The rock shelters around Vélez-Blanco, including the one known as Tello I or Cama del Pastor, the shepherd's bed, are part of the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin listing, with paintings ranging from Levantine scenes to schematic signs. The landscape is dry and rugged, with the limestone mass of the Sierra de María rising above.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
L. Tello I. Cama del Pastor comes up 62 km in. Next is Cueva de la Plata.
3. Cueva de la Plata
Aledo is a tiny village on a rocky spur in the hills of Murcia, a place that punches well above its weight in history. In the eleventh century, it was a fortress on the frontier between Christian Castile and the Muslim taifa kingdoms, and the siege of Aledo in 1088 was a major episode in the struggle for the peninsula. A tower still stands above the village. The Cueva de la Plata, the silver cave, lies in the hills nearby, between Aledo, Totana and Alhama de Murcia.