Why this ride
422 km from Tivissa to Tivissa, about 6 h 59 of riding. It goes by way of Abric de Gallicant, The, Poblet Monastery and Aqueduct. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Cova del Pi and Aqueduct
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 422 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 59
- 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 del Pi
The Ebro takes a long turn through southern Catalonia before it reaches the sea, and in this stretch it flows wide and slow between orchards and dry hills, past old towns on rocky promontories. Miravet, with fewer than eight hundred people, is the most dramatic, a cluster of ochre houses stacked up below a Templar castle built in the twelfth century, with the river curving below. The castle was one of the main strongholds of the Knights Templar in the region, and in 1308, when the order was suppressed, its defenders held out for a time against the king's army. A small flat barge, the barca de Miravet, has long carried people across the river on a cable, and the crossing is a neat way to see the village from the water.
Read the complete Cova del Pi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cova del Pi is where the day begins. Next is Abric de Gallicant.
2. Abric de Gallicant
Alforja is a village on the southern edge of the Prades mountains, where the plain of the Camp de Tarragona meets the steep slopes of the Serra de l'Argentera and the Serra de la Mussara. The Abric de Gallicant lies in the hills near Alforja, Vilaplana and Ulldemolins, and it is one of the many prehistoric shelters in these mountains that form part of the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean rock art. The name means rooster's song, a poetic touch typical of Catalan place names. The paintings in this area are generally schematic, with simple figures and geometric shapes, and many shelters are protected by fences.
Read the complete Abric de Gallicant write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abric de Gallicant comes up about 57 km into the recorded legs. Next is The.
3. The
Inside a plain-looking farmhouse building is a domed hall from the fourth century, its cupola covered in mosaics of hunting scenes, biblical stories and figures that may represent the imperial family. Some scholars believe it was built as a mausoleum for Constans, son of Constantine the Great, who was killed in 350; others are not so sure, and the debate is part of the fun. The site belongs to the UNESCO listing for the Roman town of Tarraco.
Read the complete The write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 109 km into the recorded legs you reach The. Next is Poblet Monastery.
4. Poblet Monastery
Few places in Catalonia carry as much weight as Poblet. The Cistercian monastery was founded in the middle of the twelfth century on land granted by Count Ramon Berenguer IV, and over the following generations it became the royal pantheon of the Crown of Aragon, the place where kings chose to be buried under carved alabaster. It is still a working community of monks, which gives the vast walled complex a quietness that the coach parties never quite manage to break. UNESCO listed it in 1991, and walking through the outer gates, past the first enclosure and into the cloister, you feel the scale of medieval monastic power in a way that a textbook never conveys.
Read the complete Poblet Monastery write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Poblet Monastery, about halfway. Next is Aqueduct.
5. Aqueduct
The Pont del Diable, the Devil's Bridge, is not a bridge for people. It is a Roman aqueduct, a tall, two-tiered stone arcade that carried water to Tarraco, modern Tarragona, from the Francolí river, about fifteen kilometres away. It spans a small valley near the road to Constantí, two hundred metres long and about twenty-seven metres high at its tallest point, built of big dressed stones without mortar, and it has stood for roughly two thousand years. UNESCO included it in the Archaeological Ensemble of Tarraco in 2000.
Read the complete Aqueduct write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Aqueduct sits at 160 km, about halfway. Next is back through Poblet Monastery.
6. back through Poblet Monastery
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Poblet Monastery write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Poblet Monastery comes up about 270 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through The.
7. back through The
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 309 km into the recorded legs you reach back through The. Next is back through Abric de Gallicant.
8. back through Abric de Gallicant
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Abric de Gallicant 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 Gallicant, late in the day. Next is Cova del Pi.
9. Cova del Pi
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cova del Pi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 422 km.
Leg by leg
Cova del Pi to Abric de Gallicant
Cova del Pi → Abric de Gallicant is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abric de Gallicant to The
Abric de Gallicant → The is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The to Poblet Monastery
The → Poblet Monastery is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Poblet Monastery to Aqueduct
Poblet Monastery → Aqueduct is 71 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Aqueduct to back through Poblet Monastery
Aqueduct → back through Poblet Monastery is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Poblet Monastery to back through The
back through Poblet Monastery → back through The is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The to back through Abric de Gallicant
back through The → back through Abric de Gallicant is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Abric de Gallicant to Cova del Pi
back through Abric de Gallicant → Cova del Pi is 63 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
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