Why this ride
360 km from Bolulla to Bolulla, about 6 h 20 of riding. On the way it passes Cova del mig dia, Cueva de la Clau, Abric de Lambert and La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Barranc de Bolulla and La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 360 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 20
- 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 Cova del mig dia.
2. Cova del mig dia
The Montgó dominates the coast between Dénia and Xàbia, a massive limestone mountain rising to 753 metres straight from the sea, its profile said to resemble a sleeping elephant. The Cova del Mig Dia, the cave of midday, is in the flanks of the Montgó, one of several caves and shelters on the mountain, some with traces of prehistoric occupation and rock art. The Montgó is a natural park, with paths leading through scrub and pine to caves, viewpoints and the summit.
Read the complete Cova del mig dia write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cova del mig dia comes up about 53 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cueva de la Clau.
3. Cueva de la Clau
Behind Gandia, the orange groves climb into the folded limestone hills of La Safor, and among the tiny villages there, Palma de Gandía and Ador sit almost touching each other at the foot of the slopes. Cueva de la Clau is one of the many rock shelters in the Valencian hills that form part of the UNESCO-listed Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula, a scattered collection of hundreds of sites where prehistoric people painted hunters, animals, dancers and abstract signs on limestone overhangs.
Read the complete Cueva de la Clau write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 98 km into the recorded legs you reach Cueva de la Clau. Next is Abric de Lambert.
4. Abric de Lambert
Cullera is not where most people would look for prehistory. It is a busy beach town at the mouth of the Júcar, with high-rise apartments along the sand, a lighthouse on the point and rice fields stretching inland toward the Albufera lagoon. But the town has a mountain at its back, a limestone outcrop crowned by a castle and a sanctuary, and in that rock there are shelters, including the one known as the Abric de Lambert.
Read the complete Abric de Lambert write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abric de Lambert, about halfway. Next is La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia.
5. La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia
In the heart of Valencia's old town, a Gothic building with crenellated walls and gargoyles looks more like a castle than a market, and that was rather the point. The Lonja de la Seda, the silk exchange, was built in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries when Valencia was one of the richest cities in the Mediterranean, and it was meant to show the power of its merchants. Its great hall, the Sala de Contratación, is one of the masterpieces of late Gothic architecture, with slender columns that twist like palm trunks up to a ribbed vault. It was listed by UNESCO in 1996.
Read the complete La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia sits at 164 km, about halfway. Next is back through Abric de Lambert.
6. back through Abric de Lambert
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Abric de Lambert write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Abric de Lambert comes up about 228 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Cueva de la Clau.
7. back through Cueva de la Clau
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cueva de la Clau write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 267 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Cueva de la Clau. Next is back through Cova del mig dia.
8. back through Cova del mig dia
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cova del mig dia write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Cova del mig dia, late in the day. Next is Barranc de Bolulla.
9. 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
The route ends here after 360 km.
Leg by leg
Barranc de Bolulla to Cova del mig dia
Barranc de Bolulla → Cova del mig dia is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cova del mig dia to Cueva de la Clau
Cova del mig dia → Cueva de la Clau is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cueva de la Clau to Abric de Lambert
Cueva de la Clau → Abric de Lambert is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abric de Lambert to La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia
Abric de Lambert → La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia to back through Abric de Lambert
La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia → back through Abric de Lambert is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Abric de Lambert to back through Cueva de la Clau
back through Abric de Lambert → back through Cueva de la Clau is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cueva de la Clau to back through Cova del mig dia
back through Cueva de la Clau → back through Cova del mig dia is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cova del mig dia to Barranc de Bolulla
back through Cova del mig dia → Barranc de Bolulla is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.