Cova alta del Llidoner and mas d'en Josep- Abric l
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
216 km
Riding-time estimate
4 h 13
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.
216 km from Oropesa del Mar to Oropesa del Mar, about 4 h 13 of riding. On the way it passes Cingle dels Tolls del Puntal, Villaroges, mas d'en Josep- Abric l and back through Villaroges. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,100 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Cova alta del Llidoner
Most people come to this stretch of the Castellón coast for the beaches at Benicàssim and Oropesa, and they never look up at the dry, scrubby hills a few kilometres inland. Up there, among the pines, rosemary and limestone ledges near Cabanes, the Cova alta del Llidoner is one of the rock shelters with prehistoric paintings that belong to the World Heritage site of Levantine rock art. It is a quiet, unshowy place, more about the feel of the land than about anything you can photograph.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cova alta del Llidoner is where the day begins. Next is Cingle dels Tolls del Puntal.
2. Cingle dels Tolls del Puntal
Cingle means a cliff in Valencian, and the Cingle dels Tolls del Puntal is one of the rocky bands that cut across the hills of northern Castellón, in the Maestrat region. The shelters in these cliffs hold paintings of the Levantine rock art tradition, red figures of archers, goats and deer, protected by UNESCO as part of the Mediterranean Basin group. The Valltorta gorge nearby is one of the richest concentrations of this art, and there is a museum in the village of Tírig that explains the painted shelters. The shelters themselves are fragile and often restricted.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cingle dels Tolls del Puntal comes up about 41 km into the recorded legs. Next is Villaroges.
3. Villaroges
Villaroges is one of those names that appears on a map of prehistoric sites rather than a road atlas, somewhere in the high country of the Alt Maestrat between Benassal, Culla and Vilafranca. It belongs to the extraordinary concentration of rock art in the mountains of Castellón, where small painted shelters are scattered through the ravines, protected as part of the UNESCO-listed rock art of the Mediterranean Basin. Exactly where the panel lies, and whether it can be visited, is a question for the local tourist office or the museum at Tírig; treat the name as an invitation into one of the emptiest and most beautiful corners of eastern Spain.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 73 km into the recorded legs you reach Villaroges. Next is mas d'en Josep- Abric l.
4. mas d'en Josep- Abric l
If the rock art of eastern Spain has a capital, it is the Valltorta gorge in the Maestrat of Castellón, and the Mas d'en Josep shelter is one of its classic sites. The paintings here belong to the Levantine style, small, lively scenes of hunters with bows, running figures and animals in motion, drawn with an energy that still feels modern. One famous panel from this area shows a deer hunt; others depict archers in mid-stride. The shelters of the Valltorta are part of the UNESCO-listed rock art of the Mediterranean Basin, and the museum at Tírig, near the gorge, is the place to start: it explains the art, shows reproductions, and organises guided visits to the shelters, which are fenced and protected.