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 Socovos it runs 352 km to Socovos; allow about 9 h 26 of riding. It goes by way of friso de los Gitanos o Abrigo del Cazador, Diosa madre, Abrigo del Engarbo and back through Diosa madre. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,450 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 molino de Bagil
The northwest of Murcia is a world away from the coastal resorts. Around Moratalla, the land rises into the mountains that form the southern edge of the Sierra de Segura, a rugged country of pine forests, deep river valleys, terraced hillsides and white villages perched on rocks. The Abrigo del Molino de Bagil is one of the many rock shelters in this area that contain prehistoric paintings, part of the UNESCO listing of the rock art of the Mediterranean Basin. Moratalla and its neighbours have an especially rich collection, with scenes of hunters, archers and animals painted in the Levantine style thousands of years ago. Many shelters are protected by fences, and visits are possible only with guides or by arrangement.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abrigo del molino de Bagil is where the day begins. Next is friso de los Gitanos o Abrigo del Cazador.
2. friso de los Gitanos o Abrigo del Cazador
Nerpio sits at about a thousand metres in the Sierra de Segura foothills, at the far south-west corner of Albacete province, in a high valley that feels closer to Andalusia than to La Mancha. It is an out-of-the-way place, with orchards of apples, almond and walnut trees in the valley bottoms and bare limestone peaks above. The area is famous among specialists for its rock art: dozens of shelters in the surrounding gorges hold paintings of the Levantine and Schematic styles, and they are part of the Mediterranean-arc group UNESCO listed in 1998. The Friso de los Gitanos, the Gypsies' Frieze, is one of the better known, and the name tells you that locals have been looking at it for a long time.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
friso de los Gitanos o Abrigo del Cazador comes up about 36 km into the recorded legs. Next is Diosa madre.
3. Diosa madre
Some places on a map feel remote; this one actually is. The point named Diosa Madre, mother goddess, lies in the mountains of the Sierra de Segura, in the far southwest of Albacete province, roughly sixteen kilometres from Yeste and not far from the border with Jaén. The mountains themselves are the real experience.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 94 km into the recorded legs you reach Diosa madre. Next is Abrigo del Engarbo.
4. Abrigo del Engarbo
Deep in the Sierra de Segura in the northeast of Jaén province, close to where the Segura river is born, the Engarbo rock shelters hide a few small painted figures under limestone overhangs. They belong to the great serial UNESCO listing of Levantine rock art, prehistoric paintings found along the mountains of eastern Spain, with stylised humans and animals in red ochre that have survived thousands of years of sun, frost and goats. The shelters are modest and fragile, often fenced, and visits usually need to be arranged locally, so treat them as a reason to explore this remote corner rather than a guaranteed sight.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abrigo del molino de Bagil closes the day.
Leg by leg
Abrigo del molino de Bagil to friso de los Gitanos o Abrigo del Cazador
Abrigo del molino de Bagil → friso de los Gitanos o Abrigo del Cazador is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
friso de los Gitanos o Abrigo del Cazador to Diosa madre
friso de los Gitanos o Abrigo del Cazador → Diosa madre is 58 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Diosa madre to Abrigo del Engarbo
Diosa madre → Abrigo del Engarbo is 70 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abrigo del Engarbo to back through Diosa madre
Abrigo del Engarbo → back through Diosa madre is 94 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Diosa madre to back through friso de los Gitanos o Abrigo del Cazador
back through Diosa madre → back through friso de los Gitanos o Abrigo del Cazador is 58 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through friso de los Gitanos o Abrigo del Cazador to Abrigo del molino de Bagil
back through friso de los Gitanos o Abrigo del Cazador → Abrigo del molino de Bagil is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.