Why this ride
A 424 km round trip from Confrides - roughly 6 h 06 in the saddle. The stops in between: Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi, Olula and back through Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Barranc de les Covatelles and Olula
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 424 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 06
- 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 les Covatelles
Guadalest is a tiny village on a rock, entered through a tunnel cut in the stone, with a castle, a bell tower perched on a pinnacle and a view over a turquoise reservoir below. It is one of the most visited places in the province of Alicante, and it sits at the heart of a valley surrounded by mountains: the Aitana, the highest in the province at over fifteen hundred metres, the Serrella and the Xortà. The Barranc de les Covatelles is one of the ravines in this mountainous country, near Benimantell, Sella and Castell de Castells, with rock shelters that hold prehistoric paintings, one component of the World Heritage inscription for the rock art of the Mediterranean Basin.
Read the complete Barranc de les Covatelles write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Barranc de les Covatelles is where the day begins. Next is Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi.
2. Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi
The Carabassí is one of the last stretches of wild-ish coast between Alicante and Santa Pola: a line of dunes held together by pine and marram grass, a long beach, and the sea glittering under the flight path of Alicante airport. In the low rocky ground behind it lies a small cave known for painted marks, the Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassí, close to the village of El Altet and a short hop from Santa Pola.
Read the complete Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi comes up about 96 km into the recorded legs. Next is Olula.
3. Olula
Caudete and Almansa sit in a corridor of land where Castile-La Mancha, Valencia and Murcia meet, and for centuries this was frontier country, where kingdoms and armies passed and fought. Olula is a point in the hills near Caudete, linked on the rides with rock-art shelters in the surrounding sierras, part of the extensive UNESCO listing of prehistoric art in Mediterranean Spain.
Read the complete Olula write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 198 km into the recorded legs you reach Olula. Next is back through Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi.
4. back through Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi, late in the day. Next is Barranc de les Covatelles.
5. Barranc de les Covatelles
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Barranc de les Covatelles 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 les Covatelles. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Barranc de les Covatelles to Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi
Barranc de les Covatelles → Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi is 96 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi to Olula
Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi → Olula is 102 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Olula to back through Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi
Olula → back through Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi is 127 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi to Barranc de les Covatelles
back through Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassi → Barranc de les Covatelles is 99 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.