Why this ride
116 km from Vall de Gallinera to Vall de Gallinera, about 3 h 16 of riding. On the way it passes Cueva de la Clau, Cova fosca and back through Cueva de la Clau. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Cova Llarga and Cova fosca
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 116 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 16
- 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 Llarga
The Benicadell is the mountain that tells you where you are in this part of Valencia. Its long, sharp limestone ridge, topped by a distinctive rocky tooth, separates the Vall d'Albaida from the valleys of Alcoy and Cocentaina, and on clear days it is visible from the coast. The Cova Llarga, the long cave, sits on the southern side of this world, in the folded hills near Beniarrés, Terrateig and Planes, and it belongs to the scatter of small sites that record people living, painting and sheltering in these hills since prehistory.
Read the complete Cova Llarga write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cova Llarga is where the day begins. Next is Cueva de la Clau.
2. Cueva de la Clau
Behind Gandia, the orange groves climb into the folded limestone hills of La Safor, and among the tiny villages there, Palma de Gandía and Ador sit almost touching each other at the foot of the slopes. Cueva de la Clau is one of the many rock shelters in the Valencian hills that form part of the UNESCO-listed Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula, a scattered collection of hundreds of sites where prehistoric people painted hunters, animals, dancers and abstract signs on limestone overhangs.
Read the complete Cueva de la Clau write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cueva de la Clau comes up about 22 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cova fosca.
3. Cova fosca
The cave called Cova Fosca means the dark cave, and the name is as plain as the country around it, a series of pale limestone ravines in the interior of the Marina Alta. Vall d'Ebo, Adsubia and Pego lie at the foot of the mountains, with villages of a few hundred people, and a land of terraced slopes where the Moriscos, the Muslim farmers who stayed after the Christian conquest, grew grain, grapes and almonds until their expulsion in 1609. After that the valleys emptied, and the terraces stand as monuments to a vanished community.
Read the complete Cova fosca write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 58 km into the recorded legs you reach Cova fosca. Next is back through Cueva de la Clau.
4. back through Cueva de la Clau
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cueva de la Clau write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Cueva de la Clau, late in the day. Next is Cova Llarga.
5. Cova Llarga
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cova Llarga write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Cova Llarga. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Cova Llarga to Cueva de la Clau
Cova Llarga → Cueva de la Clau is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cueva de la Clau to Cova fosca
Cueva de la Clau → Cova fosca is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cova fosca to back through Cueva de la Clau
Cova fosca → back through Cueva de la Clau is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cueva de la Clau to Cova Llarga
back through Cueva de la Clau → Cova Llarga is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.