Why this ride
A 516 km round trip from Tollos - roughly 12 h 04 in the saddle. The stops in between: El Pantanet, Abric del Garrofero, Barranco del Cabezo del moro and Peñon de los machos. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Coves Roges Abric II-III and Peñon de los machos
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 516 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 12 h 04
- 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 II-III
Behind the Costa Blanca, between the beaches and the hills, lies a country of steep limestone valleys, almond terraces and tiny villages that few tourists reach. Coves Roges, the Red Caves, are shelters in the rock near Castell de Castells and Tàrbena, in the Marina Alta, where the Serra d'Aitana rises to over fifteen hundred metres and the Guadalest valley cuts deep into the mountains. Rock shelters here were painted and used in prehistory, and this part of Alicante has some of the best-known Levantine art, such as the shelters at Pla de Petracos not far away.
Read the complete Coves Roges Abric II-III write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Coves Roges Abric II-III is where the day begins. Next is El Pantanet.
2. El Pantanet
Few riders have heard of the Serra de Mariola, and that is a pity, because this little limestone range between Alcoi, Bocairent and Ontinyent is one of the most rewarding corners of inland Valencia. El Pantanet, near the village of Alfafara, is a small rock shelter with prehistoric paintings, one of the many sites in the UNESCO listing of the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula. As with most of its sisters, it is protected and access may be limited, but the hills around it reward the trip on their own.
Read the complete El Pantanet write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
El Pantanet comes up about 41 km into the recorded legs. Next is Abric del Garrofero.
3. Abric del Garrofero
Bicorp is a small village in the Canal de Navarrés, a valley in the interior of Valencia province walled in by rugged mountains and deep ravines. The surrounding Macizo del Caroig is one of the largest wild areas in the Valencian Community, a vast tableland of pine, scrub and gorges cut by the Júcar's tributaries. The Abric del Garrofero, the shelter of the carob tree, lies in the hills near Bicorp, Quesa and Navarrés.
Read the complete Abric del Garrofero write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 102 km into the recorded legs you reach Abric del Garrofero. Next is Barranco del Cabezo del moro.
4. Barranco del Cabezo del moro
Almansa is one of those towns you see from the motorway and do not stop at, and that is a mistake. Its castle is spectacular, a Gothic fortress built on a sharp limestone outcrop right in the middle of town, looking exactly like a child's drawing of a castle. Around it spreads a wide plain at about seven hundred metres, the meeting point of the Valencian, Murcian and Castilian lands, and a few kilometres out in the surrounding hills lies the ravine known as the Barranco del Cabezo del Moro.
Read the complete Barranco del Cabezo del moro write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Barranco del Cabezo del moro, about halfway. Next is Peñon de los machos.
5. Peñon de los machos
Cofrentes is a village at the confluence of two rivers, the Júcar and the Cabriel, in the interior of Valencia province, and it has a curious mix of attractions. Above it stands a castle on a crag. Nearby rises the Cerro de Agrás, the only recently active volcano in the Valencian Community, a dark cone of basalt in a landscape of limestone. And just outside the village, the cooling towers of the Cofrentes nuclear power station send plumes of steam into the sky. The Peñón de los Machos, a rocky outcrop with painted shelters, lies in the hills between Cofrentes, Jalance and Jarafuel.
Read the complete Peñon de los machos write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Peñon de los machos sits at 166 km, about halfway. Next is back through Barranco del Cabezo del moro.
6. back through Barranco del Cabezo del moro
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Barranco del Cabezo del moro write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Barranco del Cabezo del moro comes up about 316 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Abric del Garrofero.
7. back through Abric del Garrofero
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Abric del Garrofero write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 411 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Abric del Garrofero. Next is back through El Pantanet.
8. back through El Pantanet
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete El Pantanet write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through El Pantanet, late in the day. Next is Coves Roges Abric II-III.
9. Coves Roges Abric II-III
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Coves Roges Abric II-III write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 516 km.
Leg by leg
Coves Roges Abric II-III to El Pantanet
Coves Roges Abric II-III → El Pantanet is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
El Pantanet to Abric del Garrofero
El Pantanet → Abric del Garrofero is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abric del Garrofero to Barranco del Cabezo del moro
Abric del Garrofero → Barranco del Cabezo del moro is 89 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Barranco del Cabezo del moro to Peñon de los machos
Barranco del Cabezo del moro → Peñon de los machos is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Peñon de los machos to back through Barranco del Cabezo del moro
Peñon de los machos → back through Barranco del Cabezo del moro is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Barranco del Cabezo del moro to back through Abric del Garrofero
back through Barranco del Cabezo del moro → back through Abric del Garrofero is 95 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Abric del Garrofero to back through El Pantanet
back through Abric del Garrofero → back through El Pantanet is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through El Pantanet to Coves Roges Abric II-III
back through El Pantanet → Coves Roges Abric II-III is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.