Why this ride
A 298 km round trip from Tollos - roughly 5 h 25 in the saddle. It goes by way of Penya Escrita, Cova del mig dia, Abric de Lambert and back through Cova del mig dia. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Coves Roges Abric I and Abric de Lambert
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 298 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 25
- 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. Coves Roges Abric I
Planes looks like a village that has been arguing with gravity for a thousand years and winning. Its houses climb a hill crowned by the remains of a Moorish castle, and the whole place overlooks a valley of olive and almond terraces that falls toward the Beniarrés reservoir. The Coves Roges, the red caves, lie in the broken limestone country around here, and the first of their shelters carries prehistoric paintings, part of the scattered rock art of the Valencian mountains. The colour in the name is not poetry: the rock itself is stained a warm iron red.
Read the complete Coves Roges- Abric I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Coves Roges Abric I is where the day begins. Next is Penya Escrita.
2. Penya Escrita
In the folded limestone hills behind the Costa Blanca, far enough inland that the resorts feel like another country, a rock shelter called Penya Escrita holds prehistoric paintings. The name means something like the written rock, which is what the people of Tàrbena and Bolulla called it long before archaeologists arrived. The figures belong to the rock art of the Mediterranean Basin of the Iberian Peninsula, a UNESCO site made up of hundreds of shelters scattered from Catalonia down to Andalusia, painted by hunter-gatherers and early farmers thousands of years ago. They are small, faded and easy to miss, and they are best appreciated with patience rather than expectation.
Read the complete Penya Escrita write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Penya Escrita comes up about 30 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cova del mig dia.
3. Cova del mig dia
The Montgó dominates the coast between Dénia and Xàbia, a massive limestone mountain rising to 753 metres straight from the sea, its profile said to resemble a sleeping elephant. The Cova del Mig Dia, the cave of midday, is in the flanks of the Montgó, one of several caves and shelters on the mountain, some with traces of prehistoric occupation and rock art. The Montgó is a natural park, with paths leading through scrub and pine to caves, viewpoints and the summit.
Read the complete Cova del mig dia write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 75 km into the recorded legs you reach Cova del mig dia. Next is Abric de Lambert.
4. Abric de Lambert
Cullera is not where most people would look for prehistory. It is a busy beach town at the mouth of the Júcar, with high-rise apartments along the sand, a lighthouse on the point and rice fields stretching inland toward the Albufera lagoon. But the town has a mountain at its back, a limestone outcrop crowned by a castle and a sanctuary, and in that rock there are shelters, including the one known as the Abric de Lambert.
Read the complete Abric de Lambert write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abric de Lambert, about halfway. Next is back through Cova del mig dia.
5. back through Cova del mig dia
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cova del mig dia 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 mig dia sits at 167 km, about halfway. Next is back through Penya Escrita.
6. back through Penya Escrita
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Penya Escrita write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Penya Escrita comes up about 267 km into the recorded legs. Next is Coves Roges Abric I.
7. Coves Roges Abric I
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Coves Roges- Abric I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Coves Roges Abric I closes the day.
Leg by leg
Coves Roges Abric I to Penya Escrita
Coves Roges Abric I → Penya Escrita is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Penya Escrita to Cova del mig dia
Penya Escrita → Cova del mig dia is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cova del mig dia to Abric de Lambert
Cova del mig dia → Abric de Lambert is 74 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Abric de Lambert to back through Cova del mig dia
Abric de Lambert → back through Cova del mig dia is 76 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Cova del mig dia to back through Penya Escrita
back through Cova del mig dia → back through Penya Escrita is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Penya Escrita to Coves Roges Abric I
back through Penya Escrita → Coves Roges Abric I is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.