Coves Roges Abric II-III and Pinós

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 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 Barranc del Xorquet.

2. 2. Barranc del Xorquet

   Ask a cyclist on the Costa Blanca about Coll de Rates and watch their face change. The pass road climbing from Parcent toward Tàrbena is a pilgrimage for professional teams in winter training, and it lies only a few kilometres from the Barranc del Xorquet, one of the ravines in the tangled limestone hills behind the coast. This is an area rich in prehistoric rock art: the shelters at Pla de Petracos near Castell de Castells hold some of the best examples of the so-called macro-schematic style, big abstract human figures painted in red thousands of years ago, and the ravines around here hide further sites.

   Read the complete Barranc del Xorquet write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Barranc del Xorquet comes up about 24 km into the recorded legs. Next is Pinós.

3. 3. Pinós

   Inland from the busy coast of the Marina Alta, behind Benissa and Calp, the land folds into a series of steep, terraced valleys where almond and olive trees cling to dry-stone walls and white farmhouses sit among the pines. Pinós is a rural area in the hills near Benissa, Senija and Jalón, and the rides link it to the rock-art shelters of the barrancs, the ravines that cut through the limestone of this region, part of the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean prehistoric art. The exact contents of the nearby shelters are for specialists, but the landscape itself has a quiet, timeless beauty, especially in the soft light of late afternoon.

   Read the complete Pinós 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 Pinós. Next is back through Barranc del Xorquet.

4. 4. back through Barranc del Xorquet

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Barranc del Xorquet write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Barranc del Xorquet, late in the day. Next is Coves Roges Abric II-III.

5. 5. 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

   Back at Coves Roges Abric II-III. That is the ride.