Why this ride
From Os de Balaguer it runs 169 km to Os de Balaguer; allow about 3 h 18 of riding. On the way it passes Cova del Tabac, Cova del Cogulló and back through Cova del Tabac.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Cova dels Vilasos o dels Vilars and Cova del Cogulló
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 169 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 18
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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 dels Vilasos o dels Vilars
Os de Balaguer is a small village on the edge of the pre-Pyrenean hills in the Noguera district of Lleida, and the Cova dels Vilasos, also known as the Cova dels Vilars, lies just outside it. The site is one of the painted rock shelters of Catalonia counted within the Mediterranean rock art group protected by UNESCO, and its figures are small and reddish, drawn by people who lived from hunting and gathering in what was then a far wilder landscape. Like its neighbours it is protected and rarely dramatic at first sight; give your eyes a moment in the shade and the shapes begin to come out of the stone.
Read the complete Cova dels Vilasos o dels Vilars write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cova dels Vilasos o dels Vilars is where the day begins. Next is Cova del Tabac.
2. Cova del Tabac
Above the village of Camarasa, where the Segre comes out of the pre-Pyrenean hills onto the plain of Lleida, a cave in the limestone holds some of the most interesting rock paintings in Catalonia. The Cova del Tabac, the tobacco cave, is a wide shelter with schematic paintings, simplified human figures, animals and symbols in red, and it is one of the sites included in the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean rock art on the Iberian Peninsula. A short walk leads up from the road to the shelter, which also offers a fine view over the valley, and on a clear day the Pyrenees rise white on the northern horizon.
Read the complete Cova del Tabac write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cova del Tabac comes up 22 km in. Next is Cova del Cogulló.
3. Cova del Cogulló
Between the plains of Lleida and the first serious mountains of the Pyrenees there is a band of country that most people cross without noticing, and it is a mistake. The Cova del Cogulló lies here, in the hills of the Noguera between Artesa de Segre and the Montsec, a long limestone wall that rises abruptly from the farmland. Rock shelters in these hills carry prehistoric paintings, part of the Mediterranean rock art tradition that runs all along eastern Spain, and the region's churches add a medieval layer, small Romanesque buildings in nearly every village.
Read the complete Cova del Cogulló write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
43 km in you reach Cova del Cogulló. Next is back through Cova del Tabac.
4. back through Cova del Tabac
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cova del Tabac write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Cova del Tabac, late in the day. Next is Cova dels Vilasos o dels Vilars.
5. Cova dels Vilasos o dels Vilars
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cova dels Vilasos o dels Vilars write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Cova dels Vilasos o dels Vilars. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Cova dels Vilasos o dels Vilars to Cova del Tabac
Cova dels Vilasos o dels Vilars → Cova del Tabac is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cova del Tabac to Cova del Cogulló
Cova del Tabac → Cova del Cogulló is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cova del Cogulló to back through Cova del Tabac
Cova del Cogulló → back through Cova del Tabac is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cova del Tabac to Cova dels Vilasos o dels Vilars
back through Cova del Tabac → Cova dels Vilasos o dels Vilars is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.