Why this ride
A 168 km round trip from María - roughly 5 h 39 in the saddle. The stops in between: Tejera, Los Paradores and back through Tejera. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,300 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Central E. de Santonje and Los Paradores
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 168 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 39
- 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. Central E. de Santonje
The Indalo, a little stick figure holding an arc over its head, is now the symbol of the whole province of Almería, painted on houses, cars and souvenirs, and it comes from a rock shelter here in the hills around Vélez-Blanco. The Cueva de los Letreros, a few kilometres from this point, holds the original among other paintings of the Levantine and schematic styles, and the shelters of the Sierra de María are part of the World Heritage Site of Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula, inscribed in 1998. Santonje, as the area is called, is one of a cluster of sites in these mountains.
Read the complete Central E. de Santonje write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Central E. de Santonje is where the day begins. Next is Tejera.
2. Tejera
A tejera is a tile works, a kiln where roof tiles were baked from local clay, and the name is common across the dry south-east of Spain. The Tejera on your map is near Vélez-Blanco, about two kilometres from the village, in the country that falls away from the Sierra María towards the plain, where red soil, almond terraces and clumps of pine and juniper make up the view.
Read the complete Tejera write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tejera comes up about 25 km into the recorded legs. Next is Los Paradores.
3. Los Paradores
The far north of Almería province is not the desert most people imagine. Around Vélez-Blanco and María the land rises into the Sierra de María-Los Vélez Natural Park, a range of limestone peaks with pine and holm oak forest, high plains of cereal and almond and villages that can see snow in winter. Los Paradores is one of the rock art sites in this area, part of the UNESCO listing of the Mediterranean Iberian rock art, and the region holds one of the most famous painted shelters in Spain, the Cueva de los Letreros, home of the Indalo, a stick figure holding an arc over its head that has become the symbol of Almería.
Read the complete Los Paradores write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 97 km into the recorded legs you reach Los Paradores. Next is back through Tejera.
4. back through Tejera
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Tejera write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Tejera, late in the day. Next is Central E. de Santonje, 19 km on.
5. Central E. de Santonje
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Central E. de Santonje write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Central E. de Santonje. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Central E. de Santonje to Tejera
Central E. de Santonje → Tejera is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Tejera to Los Paradores
Tejera → Los Paradores is 72 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Los Paradores to back through Tejera
Los Paradores → back through Tejera is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Tejera to Central E. de Santonje
back through Tejera → Central E. de Santonje is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.