Why this ride
A 338 km round trip from Caspe - roughly 7 h 35 in the saddle. On the way it passes Els Secans, Cueva de mas del Abogat, Val del Charco del Agua Amarga and Punta del Alcañizano.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Abrigo del Plano del Pulido and Punta del Alcañizano
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 338 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 35
- 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.
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 Els Secans.
2. Els Secans
The lower Matarraña, in the far east of Aragón, is a drier, emptier country than the green upper valley. Here, the river flows through low hills of sandstone and limestone, with olive groves, almond trees and cereal fields, and the villages stand on hilltops, built of golden stone. Mazaleón is one of them, a small village above the river, with Maella and Calaceite nearby. Els Secans, a name meaning the dry lands, is a shelter with prehistoric paintings in the hills just outside the village.
Read the complete Els Secans write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Els Secans comes up 20 km in. Next is Cueva de mas del Abogat.
3. Cueva de mas del Abogat
Calaceite is the kind of village that makes you slow down without being asked: honey-coloured stone, arcaded squares, a big baroque church and grand old houses with carved doorways, all perched on a ridge in the Matarraña, the corner of Teruel where Aragón meets Catalonia and Valencia. A few kilometres from it lies the Cueva de Mas del Abogat, one of the painted rock shelters that belong to the UNESCO listing of prehistoric art in the Mediterranean Basin of the Iberian Peninsula. As with its sisters across eastern Spain, the paintings are small and often hard to read; the setting is what you take away.
Read the complete Cueva de mas del Abogat write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
40 km in you reach Cueva de mas del Abogat. Next is Val del Charco del Agua Amarga.
4. Val del Charco del Agua Amarga
Around ten kilometres from Alcañiz, in a dry ravine among olive groves and limestone ledges, a rock shelter holds one of the most celebrated scenes of Levantine rock art in Spain. The paintings at Val del Charco del Agua Amarga show archers in motion, hunting and perhaps fighting, their thin bodies drawn with a few confident strokes in red. Many experts consider it one of the finest examples in the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean rock art, and seeing it, even protected behind a fence, gives a real jolt of connection to people who lived here several thousand years ago.
Read the complete Val del Charco del Agua Amarga write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Val del Charco del Agua Amarga, about halfway. Next is Punta del Alcañizano.
5. Punta del Alcañizano
Bajo Aragón has the look of a country that works for a living. Olive trees climb the terraces in tidy grey-green rows, almond orchards fill the gaps, and every village seems to own a mill or a cooperative that presses oil under a protected regional name. The Punta del Alcañizano sits in the rolling hills of the Matarraña district, near Valdeltormo and Mazaleón, two villages of a few hundred people each, on the southern edge of Aragón where the land begins to tilt toward Catalonia and the Ebro.
Read the complete Punta del Alcañizano write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Punta del Alcañizano sits at 81 km, about halfway. Next is back through Val del Charco del Agua Amarga.
6. back through Val del Charco del Agua Amarga
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Val del Charco del Agua Amarga write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Val del Charco del Agua Amarga comes up 101 km in. Next is back through Cueva de mas del Abogat.
7. back through Cueva de mas del Abogat
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cueva de mas del Abogat write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
121 km in you reach back through Cueva de mas del Abogat. Next is back through Els Secans.
8. back through Els Secans
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Els Secans write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Els Secans, 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 338 km.
Leg by leg
Abrigo del Plano del Pulido to Els Secans
Abrigo del Plano del Pulido → Els Secans is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Els Secans to Cueva de mas del Abogat
Els Secans → Cueva de mas del Abogat is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cueva de mas del Abogat to Val del Charco del Agua Amarga
Cueva de mas del Abogat → Val del Charco del Agua Amarga is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Val del Charco del Agua Amarga to Punta del Alcañizano
Val del Charco del Agua Amarga → Punta del Alcañizano is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Punta del Alcañizano to back through Val del Charco del Agua Amarga
Punta del Alcañizano → back through Val del Charco del Agua Amarga is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Val del Charco del Agua Amarga to back through Cueva de mas del Abogat
back through Val del Charco del Agua Amarga → back through Cueva de mas del Abogat is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cueva de mas del Abogat to back through Els Secans
back through Cueva de mas del Abogat → back through Els Secans is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Els Secans to Abrigo del Plano del Pulido
back through Els Secans → Abrigo del Plano del Pulido is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.