Why this ride
503 km from Caspe to Caspe, about 10 h 00 of riding. The stops in between: Val de Caballé I, Mallata C, Les Coves and Cova del Tabac. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Abrigo del Plano del Pulido and Cova del Tabac
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 503 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 10 h 00
- 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Abrigo del Plano del Pulido
South of Caspe, the lower Aragón country is a dry, sculpted landscape of ochre hills, flat-topped mesas and gullies cut into soft sandstone, with almond and olive groves clinging to the valley floors. In these sandstone outcrops, prehistoric people found shelter and left paintings, and the Abrigo del Plano del Pulido is one of the rock shelters of the area included in the World Heritage site of the rock art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula. The painted figures, in the reddish tones of Levantine art, are small and faded, and as at most of these sites, access is controlled and visits may need to be arranged in advance.
Read the complete Abrigo del Plano del Pulido write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abrigo del Plano del Pulido is where the day begins. Next is Val de Caballé I.
2. Val de Caballé I
Here the Ebro stops being a river and becomes a lake. Behind the great dams at Mequinenza and Riba-roja, the water backs up for kilometres into the dry hills of eastern Aragon, and locals call the reservoir the Mar de Aragón, the sea of Aragon. Val de Caballé is a gully in the hills south of the water, between Mequinenza, Nonaspe and Fabara, part of a scatter of prehistoric rock shelters in this corner where Aragon, Catalonia and the Matarranya meet.
Read the complete Val de Caballé I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Val de Caballé I comes up about 42 km into the recorded legs. Next is Mallata C.
3. Mallata C
Ontiñena is a small farming village on the Alcanadre river, at the edge of the Monegros, the dry, wind-scoured steppe of central Aragón. Out in the ravines around it, prehistoric people left painted figures in rock shelters, among them the site labelled Mallata C, one of the many small components of the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean rock art. The paintings are small, simple and best seen with a local guide, and the walk there crosses a landscape that seems built for epic films: gypsum hills, eroded gullies and wide skies.
Read the complete Mallata C write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 108 km into the recorded legs you reach Mallata C. Next is Les Coves.
4. Les Coves
The western edge of Catalonia, around Lleida, is fruit country. Irrigation canals bring water from the Pyrenean rivers to a broad, flat plain of orchards growing apples, pears and peaches, laid out in neat lines that stretch to the horizon. Les Coves lies in this area, close to the Aragonese border, between Alfarràs, Albelda and Algerri, where the valley of the Noguera Ribagorçana spills out of the hills and onto the plain.
Read the complete Les Coves write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Les Coves, about halfway. Next is Cova del Tabac.
5. Cova del Tabac
Above the village of Camarasa, where the Segre comes out of the pre-Pyrenean hills onto the plain of Lleida, a cave in the limestone holds some of the most interesting rock paintings in Catalonia. The Cova del Tabac, the tobacco cave, is a wide shelter with schematic paintings, simplified human figures, animals and symbols in red, and it is one of the sites included in the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean rock art on the Iberian Peninsula. A short walk leads up from the road to the shelter, which also offers a fine view over the valley, and on a clear day the Pyrenees rise white on the northern horizon.
Read the complete Cova del Tabac write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cova del Tabac sits at 189 km, about halfway. Next is back through Les Coves.
6. back through Les Coves
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Les Coves write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Les Coves comes up about 316 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Mallata C.
7. back through Mallata C
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mallata C write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 386 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Mallata C. Next is back through Val de Caballé I.
8. back through Val de Caballé I
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Val de Caballé I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Val de Caballé I, late in the day. Next is Abrigo del Plano del Pulido.
9. Abrigo del Plano del Pulido
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Abrigo del Plano del Pulido write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 503 km.
Leg by leg
Abrigo del Plano del Pulido to Val de Caballé I
Abrigo del Plano del Pulido → Val de Caballé I is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Val de Caballé I to Mallata C
Val de Caballé I → Mallata C is 66 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mallata C to Les Coves
Mallata C → Les Coves is 77 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Les Coves to Cova del Tabac
Les Coves → Cova del Tabac is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cova del Tabac to back through Les Coves
Cova del Tabac → back through Les Coves is 70 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Les Coves to back through Mallata C
back through Les Coves → back through Mallata C is 70 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Mallata C to back through Val de Caballé I
back through Mallata C → back through Val de Caballé I is 74 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Val de Caballé I to Abrigo del Plano del Pulido
back through Val de Caballé I → Abrigo del Plano del Pulido is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Val del Charco del Agua Amarga and Cova del Tabac · 518 km
- Els Secans and Cova del Tabac · 497 km
- Mallata C and Val de mamet I · 203 km