Why this ride
A 357 km round trip from Hellín - roughly 6 h 02 in the saddle. The stops in between: Abrigo del Paso, Cueva de las Conchas, Cueva de los Pucheros and Cueva del Humo. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Barranco de la mortaja I and Cueva del Humo
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 357 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 02
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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. Barranco de la mortaja I
Hellín is a sizeable town of thirty thousand in the south-east of Albacete province, a dry, open country of hills, almond groves and stony plains that belongs more to Murcia than to La Mancha in feeling. The Barranco de la Mortaja is a ravine in the sandstone hills near the town, and the shelter that gives this stop its name belongs to the rock art of the Mediterranean Basin, a group of sites that UNESCO listed in 1998. The region is among the best for early paintings, with the shelters of Minateda close by, where figures of hunters and animals, in red and black, were painted on the walls of rock overhangs thousands of years ago.
Read the complete Barranco de la mortaja I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Barranco de la mortaja I is where the day begins. Next is Abrigo del Paso.
2. Abrigo del Paso
Calasparra is a rice town, which is not what most people expect of inland Murcia. The rice grown here, in terraced paddies along the Segura and Mundo rivers, was the first in Spain to receive a protected designation of origin, and it is prized for absorbing flavour without turning to mush, so paella cooks prefer it. The paddies shimmer green in summer and gold in autumn, with herons and egrets feeding in the flooded fields, and behind them rise bare limestone hills, so the effect is of a patch of Asia dropped onto a dry Spanish landscape.
Read the complete Abrigo del Paso write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abrigo del Paso comes up 35 km in. Next is Cueva de las Conchas.
3. Cueva de las Conchas
Cehegín's old town rises in a tight cluster of ochre houses and church towers on a hill above the Argos river, in the northwest of Murcia, and it is one of the best-preserved historic centres in the region, with narrow streets, noble houses and churches dating back to the sixteenth century. The Cueva de las Conchas, the cave of the shells, lies less than a kilometre from the town, and it is part of the rich network of prehistoric sites in this area, included in the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean rock art.
Read the complete Cueva de las Conchas write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
69 km in you reach Cueva de las Conchas. Next is Cueva de los Pucheros.
4. Cueva de los Pucheros
North-west of Cieza, the Segura river cuts through a dry landscape of limestone ridges, almond and fruit orchards, and rice fields that look out of place in arid Murcia. The Cueva de los Pucheros, a rock shelter in these hills between Cieza and Calasparra, is one of the many sites in the region holding prehistoric paintings, part of the UNESCO-listed Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula. Like most of these shelters, it is fragile and often protected by a fence, and access may require a guided visit arranged through the local authorities.
Read the complete Cueva de los Pucheros write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cueva de los Pucheros, about halfway. Next is Cueva del Humo.
5. Cueva del Humo
Cehegín is the sort of town that most travellers drive past on the way to somewhere more famous, which is good news for anyone who prefers a quiet table. It stands on a hillside above the Quípar river in the north-west of Murcia, only a few kilometres from Caravaca de la Cruz, and its old centre is a tangle of steep lanes, baroque houses and small churches. The place has a long history, with Roman, Moorish and Christian layers, and the narrow streets of the upper town reward a slow walk.
Read the complete Cueva del Humo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cueva del Humo sits at 138 km, about halfway. Next is back through Cueva de los Pucheros.
6. back through Cueva de los Pucheros
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cueva de los Pucheros 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 los Pucheros comes up 173 km in. Next is back through Cueva de las Conchas.
7. back through Cueva de las Conchas
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cueva de las Conchas write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
207 km in you reach back through Cueva de las Conchas. Next is back through Abrigo del Paso.
8. back through Abrigo del Paso
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Abrigo del Paso write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Abrigo del Paso, late in the day. Next is Barranco de la mortaja I.
9. Barranco de la mortaja I
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Barranco de la mortaja I 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 357 km.
Leg by leg
Barranco de la mortaja I to Abrigo del Paso
Barranco de la mortaja I → Abrigo del Paso is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abrigo del Paso to Cueva de las Conchas
Abrigo del Paso → Cueva de las Conchas is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cueva de las Conchas to Cueva de los Pucheros
Cueva de las Conchas → Cueva de los Pucheros is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cueva de los Pucheros to Cueva del Humo
Cueva de los Pucheros → Cueva del Humo is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cueva del Humo to back through Cueva de los Pucheros
Cueva del Humo → back through Cueva de los Pucheros is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cueva de los Pucheros to back through Cueva de las Conchas
back through Cueva de los Pucheros → back through Cueva de las Conchas is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cueva de las Conchas to back through Abrigo del Paso
back through Cueva de las Conchas → back through Abrigo del Paso is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Abrigo del Paso to Barranco de la mortaja I
back through Abrigo del Paso → Barranco de la mortaja I is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.