Why this ride
270 km from Tivissa to Tivissa, about 4 h 32 of riding. It goes by way of Abric de les Llibreres, Calçaes del matá and back through Abric de les Llibreres. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Cova de l'Escoda and Calçaes del matá
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 270 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 32
- 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. Cova de l'Escoda
The Mediterranean Basin rock art does not end at the Valencian border, and the Cova de l'Escoda is a reminder that the painted shelters stretch up into Catalonia. This one lies in the hills inland from the Costa Daurada, in the dry, rugged country of the Baix Camp and the Ribera d'Ebre, with the Serra de Llaberia to the north and the Ebro valley to the south-west. The shelter belongs to the group listed by UNESCO in 1998, and its paintings are in the Levantine style. The nearest places on the map are El Perelló and Ginestar, though the largest town in the area is Mont-roig del Camp, some sixteen kilometres away.
Read the complete Cova de l'Escoda write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cova de l'Escoda is where the day begins. Next is Abric de les Llibreres.
2. Abric de les Llibreres
The Montsià range rises abruptly from the coastal plain at the southern tip of Catalonia, a long, rocky ridge of limestone that separates the Ebro delta from the inland valleys. Around its foot lie the villages of Santa Bàrbara, Masdenverge and Ulldecona, surrounded by olive groves, some of them with ancient trees hundreds of years old, their trunks twisted into extraordinary shapes. The Abric de les Llibreres is one of the prehistoric rock shelters in this area, part of the UNESCO-listed rock art of the Mediterranean Basin.
Read the complete Abric de les Llibreres write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abric de les Llibreres comes up about 75 km into the recorded legs. Next is Calçaes del matá.
3. Calçaes del matá
Ares del Maestrat sits on a crag so steep that the village seems glued to the rock, and below it, in the Gasulla gorge, the Cingle de la Mola Remigia holds some of the most famous Levantine paintings in Spain, scenes of archers, hunters and even an execution. Calçaes del Matà is a shelter in the same broad landscape near Albocàsser, and with the Gasulla and Valltorta sites it belongs to the World Heritage Site of Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin. The shelters here are reached on foot, and guided visits can be booked through the local museums.
Read the complete Calçaes del matá write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 135 km into the recorded legs you reach Calçaes del matá. Next is back through Abric de les Llibreres.
4. back through Abric de les Llibreres
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Abric de les Llibreres write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Abric de les Llibreres, late in the day. Next is Cova de l'Escoda.
5. Cova de l'Escoda
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cova de l'Escoda write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Cova de l'Escoda. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Cova de l'Escoda to Abric de les Llibreres
Cova de l'Escoda → Abric de les Llibreres is 75 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abric de les Llibreres to Calçaes del matá
Abric de les Llibreres → Calçaes del matá is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Calçaes del matá to back through Abric de les Llibreres
Calçaes del matá → back through Abric de les Llibreres is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Abric de les Llibreres to Cova de l'Escoda
back through Abric de les Llibreres → Cova de l'Escoda is 73 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.