Abrigo del Torico del Pudial and Cova dels Cavalls
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
284 km
Riding-time estimate
5 h 38
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.
A 284 km round trip from Bordón - roughly 5 h 38 in the saddle. On the way it passes Coveta de la Cornisa, Abric del mas dels Ous, Cova dels Cavalls and back through Abric del mas dels Ous. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,250 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Abrigo del Torico del Pudial
The Maestrazgo and the Bajo Aragón are among the emptiest parts of Spain, a country of limestone ridges, deep river gorges and villages that look as if they were poured into the hillside. Castellote, Molinos and Mas de las Matas are small stone towns in the Teruel province, with Romanesque and Gothic churches, narrow streets and houses with wooden balconies, set between the Guadalope river and the high ground of the Maestrazgo. The population is small and has been falling for decades, which means traffic is light and the landscape is close to how it has been for centuries.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abrigo del Torico del Pudial is where the day begins. Next is Coveta de la Cornisa.
2. Coveta de la Cornisa
Morella is one of the most dramatic towns in Spain: a walled medieval city wrapped around a conical hill, with a castle on the summit and its walls running unbroken around the base. It stands in the mountains of the Ports in the north of Castellón province, at around a thousand metres, and its silhouette, seen from the roads that climb toward it, is unforgettable. The Coveta de la Cornisa, the little cave of the ledge, lies in the hills about four kilometres away.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Coveta de la Cornisa comes up about 79 km into the recorded legs. Next is Abric del mas dels Ous.
3. Abric del mas dels Ous
Xert is the kind of village you pass through on the way to somewhere else and then wonder why you did not stop. It lies in the Baix Maestrat in northern Castellón, below a ridge of bare limestone, with the old village climbing the slope and a newer part down by the road. The shelter called the Abric del Mas dels Ous, the shelter of the farmhouse of the eggs, is out in the dry hills nearby, between Xert, Canet lo Roig and Rosell.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 121 km into the recorded legs you reach Abric del mas dels Ous. Next is Cova dels Cavalls.
4. Cova dels Cavalls
A line of archers closing in on a herd of deer, one animal already wounded and fleeing: the hunting scene in the Cova dels Cavalls is one of the most reproduced images of Spanish prehistoric art, and it sits in the Barranc de la Valltorta, a dry limestone gorge in the Castellón hinterland between Albocàsser and Tírig. The Valltorta shelters, together with nearby Gasulla, form one of the key groups of Levantine rock art, and the Museu de la Valltorta near Tírig runs guided visits to the main shelter and explains the paintings with replicas and finds. Check visiting times at the museum before you set off, because the shelter is only seen with a guide.