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.
359 km from Nerpio to Nerpio, about 7 h 05 of riding. On the way it passes Las Covachicas, Cueva de las Palamas, Cueva de los Pucheros and Abrigo del Canto Blanco. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,400 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. The line favours views over speed.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Concejal I
Concejal is the name of a rock shelter in the sierra above Nerpio, a part of southern Albacete that most Spaniards have never visited. It is numbered I in a series of shelters, and its paintings belong to the Levantine tradition that UNESCO recognised in 1998. There is a Canto Blanco shelter in the same ride, a white rock that gives it its name, and the pair give a feel of how densely the land was used by prehistoric people.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Concejal I is where the day begins. Next is Las Covachicas.
2. Las Covachicas
The Sierra del Segura, in the far south of Albacete province, is a world of its own: deep valleys, rivers lined with poplars, terraces of olive and almond trees, and white villages that look more Andalusian than Castilian. Letur is one of the most beautiful, a village of Moorish origin built on a rock above a stream, with narrow alleys, arches and gardens watered by old irrigation channels. Las Covachicas, a group of shelters, lies in the hills nearby, between Letur, Socovos and Férez.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Las Covachicas comes up about 39 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cueva de las Palamas.
3. Cueva de las Palamas
Cehegín, in the north-west of the Murcia region, is a town of two faces: a modern lower town, and an old town on a hill, with steep streets, noble houses and churches, declared a historic site. The Cueva de las Palomas, the cave of the doves, lies on the edge of the town, less than a kilometre from the centre, with the larger town of Caravaca de la Cruz about five kilometres away.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 95 km into the recorded legs you reach Cueva de las Palamas. 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cueva de los Pucheros, about halfway. Next is Abrigo del Canto Blanco.
5. Abrigo del Canto Blanco
Jumilla is wine country, and you know it as soon as you arrive. The town sits in the north of the Murcia region, surrounded by a high, dry plateau of vineyards growing the Monastrell grape, which produces powerful, dark red wines. A castle tops the hill above the old town, and the bodegas on its outskirts welcome visitors. The Abrigo del Canto Blanco, the shelter of the white stone, lies in the hills about five kilometres away.