Why this ride
From Bolulla it runs 143 km to Bolulla; allow about 2 h 49 of riding. The stops in between: Penyó de les Carrasques- Abric I, Barranc dels Garrofers and back through Penyó de les Carrasques- Abric I. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Barranc de Bolulla and Barranc dels Garrofers
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 143 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 49
- 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 de Bolulla
Bolulla is barely a village, a few hundred people tucked into a valley of the Marina Baixa behind Benidorm, and the ravine that carries its name cuts into the limestone hills just outside it. The mountains here are steep and close together, terraced for centuries with olives, almonds and loquats, and their caves and shelters hold traces of prehistoric painting that place this corner of Alicante within the wider family of Mediterranean rock art. What you see on the ground is a dry, rocky gully scented with pine and wild herbs, with the ruined castle of Bolulla perched on a ridge above, a reminder of the Moorish centuries when these valleys were densely settled.
Read the complete Barranc de Bolulla write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Barranc de Bolulla is where the day begins. Next is Penyó de les Carrasques- Abric I.
2. Penyó de les Carrasques- Abric I
The Aitana range is the highest in the Alicante hinterland, a long limestone ridge rising to more than fifteen hundred metres above the Costa Blanca, and the village of Benimantell lies in a valley at its foot, with Castell de Castells and Sella tucked into the hills to the east. The Penyó de les Carrasques is a rocky outcrop in this country, and the shelter in it is part of the Mediterranean Basin rock art listed by UNESCO in 1998. The paintings are in the Levantine style, small red figures of hunters and animals, and they look out over a landscape of terraced valleys, quite unlike the high-rise beach towns twenty kilometres away.
Read the complete Penyó de les Carrasques- Abric I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Penyó de les Carrasques- Abric I comes up about 32 km into the recorded legs. Next is Barranc dels Garrofers.
3. Barranc dels Garrofers
Between the towns of Alcoy and Gandia, the mountains of the northern Alicante province fold into a tangle of narrow valleys, and the barranc, the ravine, of the carob trees is a dry gully among them, a few kilometres from the villages of Planes and Beniarrés. The carob, or garrofer in Valencian, is a dark, leathery tree that has grown here for centuries, and its long brown pods were once used as animal feed and sweeteners. The land is rugged limestone, laced with terraces now mostly abandoned and covered in pines and rosemary.
Read the complete Barranc dels Garrofers write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 69 km into the recorded legs you reach Barranc dels Garrofers. Next is back through Penyó de les Carrasques- Abric I.
4. back through Penyó de les Carrasques- Abric I
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Penyó de les Carrasques- Abric I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Penyó de les Carrasques- Abric I, late in the day. Next is Barranc de Bolulla.
5. Barranc de Bolulla
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Barranc de Bolulla write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Barranc de Bolulla. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Barranc de Bolulla to Penyó de les Carrasques- Abric I
Barranc de Bolulla → Penyó de les Carrasques- Abric I is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Penyó de les Carrasques- Abric I to Barranc dels Garrofers
Penyó de les Carrasques- Abric I → Barranc dels Garrofers is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Barranc dels Garrofers to back through Penyó de les Carrasques- Abric I
Barranc dels Garrofers → back through Penyó de les Carrasques- Abric I is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Penyó de les Carrasques- Abric I to Barranc de Bolulla
back through Penyó de les Carrasques- Abric I → Barranc de Bolulla is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.