Cova del Ramat and Cueva de mas del Abogat

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 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 d'Esquarterades II.

2. 2. Abric d'Esquarterades II

   Ulldecona stands where the foothills of the Ports de Tortosa-Beseit slope toward the plain of the Ebro, in the south of Catalonia, and it is a town of about six thousand people with olive groves in every direction. The Serra de Godall rises behind, and under its cliffs, the shelters known as the Abrics de l'Ermita, near the hermitage of La Pietat, hold prehistoric paintings, with a small visitor centre that makes it one of the easier places to see this art. Esquarterades is another shelter in the same tradition, part of the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin listed by UNESCO in 1998.

   Read the complete Abric d'Esquarterades II write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Abric d'Esquarterades II comes up about 65 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cueva de mas del Abogat.

3. 3. Cueva de mas del Abogat

   Calaceite is the kind of village that makes you slow down without being asked: honey-coloured stone, arcaded squares, a big baroque church and grand old houses with carved doorways, all perched on a ridge in the Matarraña, the corner of Teruel where Aragón meets Catalonia and Valencia. A few kilometres from it lies the Cueva de Mas del Abogat, one of the painted rock shelters that belong to the UNESCO listing of prehistoric art in the Mediterranean Basin of the Iberian Peninsula. As with its sisters across eastern Spain, the paintings are small and often hard to read; the setting is what you take away.

   Read the complete Cueva de mas del Abogat write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 157 km into the recorded legs you reach Cueva de mas del Abogat. Next is back through Abric d'Esquarterades II.

4. 4. back through Abric d'Esquarterades II

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Abric d'Esquarterades II write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Abric d'Esquarterades II, late in the day. Next is Cova del Ramat.

5. 5. 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

   Back at Cova del Ramat. That is the ride.