Why this ride
A 426 km round trip from Tivissa - roughly 7 h 10 in the saddle. The stops in between: Abric de Gallicant, The, Poblet Monastery and Aqueduct. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Cova del Ramat and Aqueduct
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 426 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 10
- 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 Ramat
The Ebro makes a great loop through southern Catalonia, and the Cova del Ramat lies in the dry hills just west of it, above the villages of Ginestar and Rasquera. The river here is broad and slow, lined with orchards and reed beds, and in 1938 it became the site of the Battle of the Ebro, the longest and bloodiest battle of the Spanish Civil War, which raged for nearly four months in the summer and autumn and left the hills riddled with trenches. Their traces survive in the landscape, and several memorial sites and museums, notably around Gandesa, tell the story.
Read the complete Cova del Ramat write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cova del Ramat 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 59 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 111 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 272 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 311 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 Ramat.
9. Cova del Ramat
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cova del Ramat 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 426 km.
Leg by leg
Cova del Ramat to Abric de Gallicant
Cova del Ramat → Abric de Gallicant is 59 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 Ramat
back through Abric de Gallicant → Cova del Ramat is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
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