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.
An 84 km round trip from Albocàsser - roughly 1 h 42 in the saddle. On the way it passes Barranc del Puig- Abric I, mas d'en Badenes and back through Barranc del Puig- Abric I. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,250 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Cova dels Cavalls
A line of archers closing in on a herd of deer, one animal already wounded and fleeing: the hunting scene in the Cova dels Cavalls is one of the most reproduced images of Spanish prehistoric art, and it sits in the Barranc de la Valltorta, a dry limestone gorge in the Castellón hinterland between Albocàsser and Tírig. The Valltorta shelters, together with nearby Gasulla, form one of the key groups of Levantine rock art, and the Museu de la Valltorta near Tírig runs guided visits to the main shelter and explains the paintings with replicas and finds. Check visiting times at the museum before you set off, because the shelter is only seen with a guide.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cova dels Cavalls is where the day begins. Next is Barranc del Puig- Abric I.
2. Barranc del Puig- Abric I
The Maestrat is the high, rugged interior of the province of Castellón, a land of limestone plateaus, deep ravines and stone villages that seem to grow out of the rock. Near Benassal, the Barranc del Puig cuts into the hills, and its rock shelters contain prehistoric paintings, part of the UNESCO serial site of the rock art of the Mediterranean Basin. This area is one of the richest in Spain for Levantine rock art, and the nearby Valltorta gorge, between Albocàsser and Tírig, has some of the most famous paintings, including scenes of hunters chasing deer and wild goats. The Valltorta museum in Tírig explains the art and organises visits to the shelters.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Barranc del Puig- Abric I comes up about 19 km into the recorded legs. Next is mas d'en Badenes.
3. mas d'en Badenes
This is a thinly populated landscape of limestone plateaus, stone-walled terraces, holm oaks and old farmhouses, a world away from the beach resorts an hour to the east.