Why this ride
From Ciutadella it runs 240 km to Ciutadella; allow about 5 h 14 of riding. On the way it passes C4: Central-south area of ravines, C7: South-east area-Maó, C3: Western Migjorn area and C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
C2: Southwest Area and C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 240 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 14
- 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. C2: Southwest Area
Ciutadella is the old capital of Menorca, a handsome town of nearly thirty thousand people at the western end of the island, with a small harbour lined with fish restaurants and a cathedral built on the site of a mosque. The south-west corner of the island, below the town, holds some of the finest prehistoric remains on Menorca, including the burial chamber known as the Naveta des Tudons, a stone structure shaped like an upturned boat that is among the oldest roofed buildings in Europe. It belongs to the talayotic culture that built towers and T-shaped sanctuaries across the island over many centuries.
Read the complete C2: Southwest Area write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
C2: Southwest Area is where the day begins. Next is C4: Central-south area of ravines.
2. C4: Central-south area of ravines
Menorca is the quiet island of the Balearics, and its south coast is cut by ravines, the barrancs, that run down from the limestone plateau to the sea in narrow, green clefts. The central-south area is where they are most impressive: Algendar, Trebalúger, Binigaus and others, each a steep-sided channel with wild olive, holm oak and a trickle of water in the bottom, ending in a small beach. The whole island was declared a Biosphere Reserve in 1993, and the old walking path that circles it, the Camí de Cavalls, passes by the mouths of most of them.
Read the complete C4: Central-south area of ravines write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
C4: Central-south area of ravines comes up about 33 km into the recorded legs. Next is C7: South-east area-Maó.
3. C7: South-east area-Maó
Menorca is the quieter of the Balearic islands, and Maó, at the eastern end, is its capital and main port. It sits on one of the longest natural harbours in the Mediterranean, a deep inlet that has been fought over by Britons, French and Spanish and that has left the town with Georgian sash windows next to Catalan balconies. The island itself is a UNESCO biosphere reserve, and the south-east, around Maó and Sant Lluís, is where its prehistoric remains are most thickly spread.
Read the complete C7: South-east area-Maó write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 59 km into the recorded legs you reach C7: South-east area-Maó. Next is C3: Western Migjorn area.
4. C3: Western Migjorn area
Menorca has more prehistoric monuments per square kilometre than almost anywhere in Europe, and the south-west of the island is a good place to see why. The people who lived here in the Bronze and Iron Ages built talayots, round towers of stacked stones, and taules, T-shaped stone altars, and navetas, burial chambers shaped like upturned boats, in a culture that lasted for over a thousand years. In 2023 UNESCO added the Talayotic Culture of Minorca to its list, and the western Migjorn area, the south-west of the island, is one of the zones included.
Read the complete C3: Western Migjorn area write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
C3: Western Migjorn area, about halfway. Next is C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella.
5. C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella
Menorca is a gentler island than its neighbours, and the Talaiotic culture left behind a remarkable landscape of stone monuments that UNESCO recognised in 2023. These are the talaiots, round or square towers of dry stone, the taulas, great T-shaped stone altars, and the navetas, boat-shaped tombs, all dating from the second and first millennia BC. Nobody knows exactly what the people who built them believed, but the sheer number is astonishing for an island that you can cross by car in an hour. C5 is one of the numbered zones of that heritage landscape, in the area between the ravines of Torrevella, south of Alaior.
Read the complete C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella sits at 82 km, about halfway. Next is back through C3: Western Migjorn area.
6. back through C3: Western Migjorn area
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete C3: Western Migjorn area write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through C3: Western Migjorn area comes up about 152 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through C7: South-east area-Maó.
7. back through C7: South-east area-Maó
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete C7: South-east area-Maó write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 182 km into the recorded legs you reach back through C7: South-east area-Maó. Next is back through C4: Central-south area of ravines.
8. back through C4: Central-south area of ravines
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete C4: Central-south area of ravines write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through C4: Central-south area of ravines, late in the day. Next is C2: Southwest Area.
9. C2: Southwest Area
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete C2: Southwest Area 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 240 km.
Leg by leg
C2: Southwest Area to C4: Central-south area of ravines
C2: Southwest Area → C4: Central-south area of ravines is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
C4: Central-south area of ravines to C7: South-east area-Maó
C4: Central-south area of ravines → C7: South-east area-Maó is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
C7: South-east area-Maó to C3: Western Migjorn area
C7: South-east area-Maó → C3: Western Migjorn area is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
C3: Western Migjorn area to C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella
C3: Western Migjorn area → C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella to back through C3: Western Migjorn area
C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella → back through C3: Western Migjorn area is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through C3: Western Migjorn area to back through C7: South-east area-Maó
back through C3: Western Migjorn area → back through C7: South-east area-Maó is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through C7: South-east area-Maó to back through C4: Central-south area of ravines
back through C7: South-east area-Maó → back through C4: Central-south area of ravines is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through C4: Central-south area of ravines to C2: Southwest Area
back through C4: Central-south area of ravines → C2: Southwest Area is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.