Why this ride
A 131 km round trip from Vall de Gallinera - roughly 2 h 56 in the saddle. The stops in between: Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III, Pinós and back through Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Barranc d'en Grau and Pinós
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 131 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 56
- 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. Barranc d'en Grau
Marina Alta is the part of Alicante that most visitors know from the beach, but behind the coast the landscape rises into limestone ravines that feel closer to Mallorca than to a resort. The Barranc d'en Grau is one of those clefts, in the hills above Villalonga and the upper reaches of the Vall d'Ebo. The painted shelter in the neighbouring ravine is among a number of rock-art sites in the region, sharing the Levantine style with sites farther north: red figures of hunters, animals and symbols that were painted long before any Roman set foot here.
Read the complete Barranc d'en Grau write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Barranc d'en Grau is where the day begins. Next is Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III.
2. Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III
Murla sits in the Vall de Pop, a broad valley of vines, oranges and almonds where the Girona river runs down from the mountains towards the coast at El Verger. The ravine of Alpadull cuts into the hills above, and in one of its shelters, the third along, there are prehistoric paintings, part of the great scatter of rock art across Mediterranean Spain that UNESCO lists as a single site. Like most of these shelters, it is better approached as a reason to wander a beautiful valley than as a spectacle in itself.
Read the complete Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III comes up about 35 km into the recorded legs. Next is Pinós.
3. Pinós
Inland from the busy coast of the Marina Alta, behind Benissa and Calp, the land folds into a series of steep, terraced valleys where almond and olive trees cling to dry-stone walls and white farmhouses sit among the pines. Pinós is a rural area in the hills near Benissa, Senija and Jalón, and the rides link it to the rock-art shelters of the barrancs, the ravines that cut through the limestone of this region, part of the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean prehistoric art. The exact contents of the nearby shelters are for specialists, but the landscape itself has a quiet, timeless beauty, especially in the soft light of late afternoon.
Read the complete Pinós write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 62 km into the recorded legs you reach Pinós. Next is back through Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III.
4. back through Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III, late in the day. Next is Barranc d'en Grau.
5. Barranc d'en Grau
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Barranc d'en Grau write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Barranc d'en Grau. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Barranc d'en Grau to Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III
Barranc d'en Grau → Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III to Pinós
Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III → Pinós is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Pinós to back through Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III
Pinós → back through Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III to Barranc d'en Grau
back through Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III → Barranc d'en Grau is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.