Why this ride
From Cocentaina it runs 265 km to Cocentaina; allow about 5 h 57 of riding. It goes by way of Barranc de Carbonera- Abric I, Coves Roges- Abric I, Barranc de Beniali- Abric l and Racó de la Cova dels Llidoners.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Barranc de mastec and Racó de la Cova dels Llidoners
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 265 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 57
- 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 mastec
Between Cocentaina and Alcoy, in the hilly interior of Alicante province, a small ravine called the Barranc de Mastec holds rock shelters with prehistoric paintings, part of the UNESCO listing of rock art of the Mediterranean Basin. This corner of Spain is particularly rich in it, with styles ranging from the naturalistic Levantine figures of hunters and animals to the strange, abstract macro-schematic art that seems unique to these valleys. The ravine is surrounded by terraced olive and almond groves, pine woods and limestone crags.
Read the complete Barranc de mastec write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Barranc de mastec is where the day begins. Next is Barranc de Carbonera- Abric I.
2. Barranc de Carbonera- Abric I
The Vall d'Albaida is the quiet valley south of Xàtiva where the Valencian hinterland starts to climb towards the mountains of Alicante, and Otos, Ráfol de Salem and Bèlgida are tiny villages scattered among its folds. The Barranc de Carbonera is one of the ravines that cut into the limestone slopes, and the shelter in it is part of the Mediterranean Basin rock art group that UNESCO inscribed in 1998. The Peñón de los Machos, another painted rock nearby, is on the same ride. The paintings belong to the Levantine tradition, red figures of people and animals painted on the walls of small overhangs in the cliffs.
Read the complete Barranc de Carbonera- Abric I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Barranc de Carbonera- Abric I comes up about 31 km into the recorded legs. Next is Coves Roges- Abric I.
3. Coves Roges- Abric I
Planes looks like a village that has been arguing with gravity for a thousand years and winning. Its houses climb a hill crowned by the remains of a Moorish castle, and the whole place overlooks a valley of olive and almond terraces that falls toward the Beniarrés reservoir. The Coves Roges, the red caves, lie in the broken limestone country around here, and the first of their shelters carries prehistoric paintings, part of the scattered rock art of the Valencian mountains. The colour in the name is not poetry: the rock itself is stained a warm iron red.
Read the complete Coves Roges- Abric I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 72 km into the recorded legs you reach Coves Roges- Abric I. Next is Barranc de Beniali- Abric l.
4. Barranc de Beniali- Abric l
The Vall de Gallinera is one of those valleys that seems to exist slightly outside time. Running east to west in the mountains of northern Alicante, it holds eight tiny villages strung along a single road, terraced slopes of cherry trees, and above them limestone ridges cut by steep ravines. The Barranc de Beniali is one of those ravines, and in a shelter on its walls prehistoric people painted figures that are now part of the World Heritage site of Levantine rock art. The valley next door, the Vall d'Ebo, is just as wild, and its Cova del Rull is a show cave full of stalactites.
Read the complete Barranc de Beniali- Abric l write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Barranc de Beniali- Abric l, about halfway. Next is Racó de la Cova dels Llidoners.
5. Racó de la Cova dels Llidoners
Somewhere up in these limestone folds, thousands of years ago, someone painted little figures on the rock that are still there. The Racó de la Cova dels Llidoners is one of many painted shelters in the Marina Alta, the north-eastern corner of the province of Alicante, which form part of the UNESCO-listed rock art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula. The shelters hold Levantine, Schematic and older Macroschematic paintings, showing hunters, animals and abstract shapes, and many are protected by fences and only visitable with a guide. The valleys around Murla, Orba and Tormos are full of them.
Read the complete Racó de la Cova dels Llidoners write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Racó de la Cova dels Llidoners sits at 67 km, about halfway. Next is back through Barranc de Beniali- Abric l.
6. back through Barranc de Beniali- Abric l
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Barranc de Beniali- Abric l write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Barranc de Beniali- Abric l comes up about 163 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Coves Roges- Abric I.
7. back through Coves Roges- Abric I
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Coves Roges- Abric I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 194 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Coves Roges- Abric I. Next is back through Barranc de Carbonera- Abric I.
8. back through Barranc de Carbonera- Abric I
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Barranc de Carbonera- 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 Barranc de Carbonera- Abric I, late in the day. Next is Barranc de mastec.
9. Barranc de mastec
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Barranc de mastec 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 265 km.
Leg by leg
Barranc de mastec to Barranc de Carbonera- Abric I
Barranc de mastec → Barranc de Carbonera- Abric I is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Barranc de Carbonera- Abric I to Coves Roges- Abric I
Barranc de Carbonera- Abric I → Coves Roges- Abric I is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Coves Roges- Abric I to Barranc de Beniali- Abric l
Coves Roges- Abric I → Barranc de Beniali- Abric l is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Barranc de Beniali- Abric l to Racó de la Cova dels Llidoners
Barranc de Beniali- Abric l → Racó de la Cova dels Llidoners is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Racó de la Cova dels Llidoners to back through Barranc de Beniali- Abric l
Racó de la Cova dels Llidoners → back through Barranc de Beniali- Abric l is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Barranc de Beniali- Abric l to back through Coves Roges- Abric I
back through Barranc de Beniali- Abric l → back through Coves Roges- Abric I is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Coves Roges- Abric I to back through Barranc de Carbonera- Abric I
back through Coves Roges- Abric I → back through Barranc de Carbonera- Abric I is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Barranc de Carbonera- Abric I to Barranc de mastec
back through Barranc de Carbonera- Abric I → Barranc de mastec is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.