Why this ride
316 km from Tivissa to Tivissa, about 6 h 50 of riding. It goes by way of Cabra feixet, Cova del Taller, Abric de masets and Prop de la Cova Pintada.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Cova del Pi and Prop de la Cova Pintada
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 316 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 50
- 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 Cabra feixet.
2. Cabra feixet
El Perelló is a hill village on the old coast road between Tarragona and Tortosa, and it is famous for honey. Bees have been kept on these scrubby limestone slopes for centuries, feeding on rosemary, thyme and wild flowers, and every winter the village holds a honey fair that draws visitors from across Catalonia. In the hills around, sheltered under an overhang, is the rock art of Cabra Feixet, part of the Levantine paintings of eastern Spain inscribed together by UNESCO. The figures are small and faded, and the site is best visited with a guide or after asking at the village; please do not touch the rock.
Read the complete Cabra feixet write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cabra feixet comes up about 34 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cova del Taller.
3. Cova del Taller
South of Tortosa the Ebro river slows down and spreads into one of the great wetlands of the western Mediterranean, but a few kilometres inland the country is hilly and dry, with limestone outcrops and terraced olives. Cova del Taller sits somewhere in this landscape of the Baix Ebre, near El Perelló and L'Ampolla, and is one of the shelters that carry prehistoric paintings in Catalonia.
Read the complete Cova del Taller write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 57 km into the recorded legs you reach Cova del Taller. Next is Abric de masets.
4. Abric de masets
The Montsià range rises like a wall behind the Ebro delta in southern Catalonia, a ridge of grey limestone with steep slopes and rocky crags, and in a shelter on its flanks, near Santa Bàrbara and Masdenverge, the Abric de Masets holds traces of prehistoric paintings. It is part of the World Heritage Site of Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin. The paintings here are faded and fragmentary, but the site is a reminder that people have lived and hunted in this landscape for thousands of years.
Read the complete Abric de masets write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abric de masets, about halfway. Next is Prop de la Cova Pintada.
5. Prop de la Cova Pintada
The Ports massif rises abruptly at the meeting point of Catalonia, Aragón and Valencia, a tangle of limestone peaks, deep gorges and pine forest that feels surprisingly wild given how close it is to the Ebro delta and the coast. Prop de la Cova Pintada, meaning near the painted cave, sits on its southern side, between Mas de Barberans, Valderrobres and the old city of Tortosa.
Read the complete Prop de la Cova Pintada write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Prop de la Cova Pintada sits at 121 km, about halfway. Next is back through Abric de masets.
6. back through Abric de masets
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Abric de masets 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 masets comes up about 199 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Cova del Taller.
7. back through Cova del Taller
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cova del Taller write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 258 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Cova del Taller. Next is back through Cabra feixet.
8. back through Cabra feixet
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cabra feixet write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Cabra feixet, 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 316 km.
Leg by leg
Cova del Pi to Cabra feixet
Cova del Pi → Cabra feixet is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cabra feixet to Cova del Taller
Cabra feixet → Cova del Taller is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cova del Taller to Abric de masets
Cova del Taller → Abric de masets is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abric de masets to Prop de la Cova Pintada
Abric de masets → Prop de la Cova Pintada is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Prop de la Cova Pintada to back through Abric de masets
Prop de la Cova Pintada → back through Abric de masets is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Abric de masets to back through Cova del Taller
back through Abric de masets → back through Cova del Taller is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cova del Taller to back through Cabra feixet
back through Cova del Taller → back through Cabra feixet is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cabra feixet to Cova del Pi
back through Cabra feixet → Cova del Pi is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.