Castellón de los machos and Balma de la fabriqueta
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
531 km
Riding-time estimate
9 h 26
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.
A 531 km round trip from Boniches - roughly 9 h 26 in the saddle. The stops in between: Abrigo de la Paridera de Tormón, Abric del Rincón del Tío Escribano, Abric mas de los Perez and Balma de la fabriqueta. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,400 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Castellón de los machos
High in the Serranía de Cuenca, among pine woods and sandstone outcrops near the village of Villar del Humo, prehistoric hunters painted figures on the rock shelters thousands of years ago. The site called Castellón de los Machos is one of a cluster in this area that belongs to the vast UNESCO listing of rock art of the Mediterranean Basin of the Iberian Peninsula, which covers hundreds of painted shelters from Catalonia to Andalusia. The images here are small, reddish and stylised, and finding them takes patience and good eyes.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Castellón de los machos is where the day begins. Next is Abrigo de la Paridera de Tormón.
2. Abrigo de la Paridera de Tormón
Paridera is a shepherd's word: a stone pen where ewes give birth, sheltered from the wind. Above Tormón, a tiny village in the southern Sierra de Albarracín, one such overhang has given its name to a rock shelter with prehistoric paintings, the Abrigo de la Paridera, part of the Levantine rock art sites the Iberian Peninsula shares under one UNESCO listing. The cliff here is rodeno, the red sandstone that gives this corner of Teruel its startling colour, eroded into towers, arches and overhangs among the pine trees.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abrigo de la Paridera de Tormón comes up about 68 km into the recorded legs. Next is Abric del Rincón del Tío Escribano.
3. Abric del Rincón del Tío Escribano
High in the interior of Valencia province, where the coastal orange groves give way to limestone plateaus and pine forest, the village of Titaguas sits on the road towards the Rincón de Ademuz. Close by lies the Abric del Rincón del Tío Escribano, a rock shelter with prehistoric paintings, one of the hundreds of sites that make up the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula, listed by UNESCO in 1998.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 136 km into the recorded legs you reach Abric del Rincón del Tío Escribano. Next is Abric mas de los Perez.
4. Abric mas de los Perez
Between the Turia and the Palancia rivers, northwest of Valencia, the land rises into a maze of limestone mountains, pine forest and small villages that rarely see foreign visitors. The Abric del Mas de los Pérez is a rock shelter in the hills near Andilla, Viver and Alcublas, one of hundreds of painted sites in eastern Spain listed by UNESCO as part of the rock art of the Mediterranean Basin. These shelters were decorated by hunter-gatherers and early farmers thousands of years ago, and while some feature vivid hunting scenes, many are faint and hard to see without a trained eye. Respect any fences and signs, and never wet or touch the rock.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abric mas de los Perez, about halfway. Next is Balma de la fabriqueta.
5. Balma de la fabriqueta
The Serra Calderona is the green ridge that rises north-west of Valencia, separating the city's plain from the valleys of the interior. It is a natural park of pine forest, cork oak and rocky hills, close enough to the city for weekend walkers and riders, yet surprisingly wild once you get into it. The rock shelter of Balma de la Fabriqueta lies near the village of Olocau on its southern side, one of the painted shelters that make up the Levantine rock art inscribed by UNESCO. Access to many of these sites is restricted or guided, so check with the local tourist office before trying to visit.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 531 km.
Leg by leg
Castellón de los machos to Abrigo de la Paridera de Tormón
Castellón de los machos → Abrigo de la Paridera de Tormón is 68 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abrigo de la Paridera de Tormón to Abric del Rincón del Tío Escribano
Abrigo de la Paridera de Tormón → Abric del Rincón del Tío Escribano is 68 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abric del Rincón del Tío Escribano to Abric mas de los Perez
Abric del Rincón del Tío Escribano → Abric mas de los Perez is 79 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abric mas de los Perez to Balma de la fabriqueta
Abric mas de los Perez → Balma de la fabriqueta is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Balma de la fabriqueta to back through Abric mas de los Perez
Balma de la fabriqueta → back through Abric mas de los Perez is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Abric mas de los Perez to back through Abric del Rincón del Tío Escribano
back through Abric mas de los Perez → back through Abric del Rincón del Tío Escribano is 79 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Abric del Rincón del Tío Escribano to back through Abrigo de la Paridera de Tormón
back through Abric del Rincón del Tío Escribano → back through Abrigo de la Paridera de Tormón is 70 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Abrigo de la Paridera de Tormón to Castellón de los machos
back through Abrigo de la Paridera de Tormón → Castellón de los machos is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.