Why this ride
242 km from Maó to Maó, about 5 h 24 of riding. On the way it passes C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella, C3: Western Migjorn area, C6: South-east area-Alaior and C2: Southwest Area.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
C8: Prehistoric village of Trepucó and C2: Southwest Area
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 242 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 24
- 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. C8: Prehistoric village of Trepucó
Menorca has more prehistoric monuments per square kilometre than almost anywhere in Europe, and Trepucó is the one nearest to the island's capital. It is a talayotic settlement, built by a Bronze and Iron Age people whose culture lasted from around 1000 BC to the Roman conquest. The most striking things are a very large talayot, a stone tower whose purpose is still debated, and a taula, a T-shaped monument made of two enormous stones, one set on its edge and the other laid across the top. Nobody knows for certain what the tauli were for, though most scholars think they belonged to a sanctuary.
Read the complete C8: Prehistoric village of Trepucó write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
C8: Prehistoric village of Trepucó is where the day begins. Next is C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella.
2. 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 comes up about 16 km into the recorded legs. Next is C3: Western Migjorn area.
3. 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
about 49 km into the recorded legs you reach C3: Western Migjorn area. Next is C6: South-east area-Alaior.
4. C6: South-east area-Alaior
Menorca has more prehistoric monuments per square kilometre than almost anywhere in Europe, and the land around Alaior is one of the richest parts. In the second millennium BC the island's people, known as the Talayotic culture, built big stone towers called talaiots, sanctuaries with T-shaped stone pillars called taulas, and cave burials, all from huge blocks of limestone piled without mortar. UNESCO inscribed the Talayotic Menorca sites in 2023. Near Alaior, large settlements such as Torre d'en Galmés and Torralba d'en Salord are the best known, and their stone enclosures are scattered across open fields, with dry-stone walls in all directions.
Read the complete C6: South-east area-Alaior write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
C6: South-east area-Alaior, about halfway. Next is C2: Southwest Area.
5. 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 sits at 87 km, about halfway. Next is back through C6: South-east area-Alaior.
6. back through C6: South-east area-Alaior
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete C6: South-east area-Alaior write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through C6: South-east area-Alaior comes up about 169 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through C3: Western Migjorn area.
7. 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
about 194 km into the recorded legs you reach back through C3: Western Migjorn area. Next is back through C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella.
8. back through C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella, late in the day. Next is C8: Prehistoric village of Trepucó.
9. C8: Prehistoric village of Trepucó
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete C8: Prehistoric village of Trepucó 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 242 km.
Leg by leg
C8: Prehistoric village of Trepucó to C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella
C8: Prehistoric village of Trepucó → C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella to C3: Western Migjorn area
C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella → C3: Western Migjorn area is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
C3: Western Migjorn area to C6: South-east area-Alaior
C3: Western Migjorn area → C6: South-east area-Alaior is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
C6: South-east area-Alaior to C2: Southwest Area
C6: South-east area-Alaior → C2: Southwest Area is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
C2: Southwest Area to back through C6: South-east area-Alaior
C2: Southwest Area → back through C6: South-east area-Alaior is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through C6: South-east area-Alaior to back through C3: Western Migjorn area
back through C6: South-east area-Alaior → back through C3: Western Migjorn area is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through C3: Western Migjorn area to back through C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella
back through C3: Western Migjorn area → back through C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella to C8: Prehistoric village of Trepucó
back through C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella → C8: Prehistoric village of Trepucó is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.