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.
218 km from Bullas to Bullas, about 4 h 08 of riding. On the way it passes Cueva de las Conchas, Las Cazuelas, Fuente Serrano I and back through Las Cazuelas. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,350 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Abrigo del milano
Bullas is wine country, and the vineyards of Monastrell grapes roll over the hills around the town in the northwest of Murcia, producing robust red wines under their own denomination of origin. The Abrigo del Milano, the kite's shelter, named after the bird of prey that circles over these hills, lies in the countryside between Bullas, Mula and Pliego. It is one of the many rock shelters in Murcia with prehistoric paintings, part of the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean rock art, though access to many shelters is restricted to protect them, so ask locally before trying to visit.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abrigo del milano is where the day begins. Next is Cueva de las Conchas.
2. Cueva de las Conchas
Cehegín's old town rises in a tight cluster of ochre houses and church towers on a hill above the Argos river, in the northwest of Murcia, and it is one of the best-preserved historic centres in the region, with narrow streets, noble houses and churches dating back to the sixteenth century. The Cueva de las Conchas, the cave of the shells, lies less than a kilometre from the town, and it is part of the rich network of prehistoric sites in this area, included in the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean rock art.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cueva de las Conchas comes up about 21 km into the recorded legs. Next is Las Cazuelas.
3. Las Cazuelas
Moratalla is the kind of hill town that looks as though it was poured down a slope: white houses tumbling below a castle tower, narrow lanes too steep for comfort, church bells echoing off the hills. Ten kilometres out, in the rugged country of north-west Murcia, the shelter of Las Cazuelas holds prehistoric paintings, part of the region's contribution to the UNESCO-listed Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin. The paintings are fragile and protected, and access is usually by guided visit, arranged in Moratalla or through the regional authorities.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 51 km into the recorded legs you reach Las Cazuelas. Next is Fuente Serrano I.
4. Fuente Serrano I
Nerpio is the kind of place that makes you check the map twice. It sits at the head of the Taibilla valley in the far south-west of Albacete province, on a high plateau more than a kilometre above sea level, in the Sierra de Segura, surrounded by mountains and reachable only by long and winding roads. The village is small, with about 1,600 people, and the countryside around it is a mix of cherry orchards, almond groves, pasture and pine forest, with limestone crags and the cold, clear water of the Taibilla river cutting through the valley floor.