Why this ride
A 187 km round trip from Palma de Gandía - roughly 4 h 04 in the saddle. The stops in between: Penya de Benicadell, Abric del Gegant, Cova de la Petxina and back through Abric del Gegant.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Cueva de la Clau and Cova de la Petxina
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 187 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 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. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Penya de Benicadell.
2. Penya de Benicadell
From almost anywhere in the southern half of Valencia province you can see it: a long, jagged ridge of grey limestone with a sharp tooth at its eastern end, standing on the skyline like a broken saw. The Benicadell, at 1,104 metres, separates the Vall d'Albaida to the north from the Comtat to the south, and the sharp summit, the Penya, is the mountain's signature. At its foot lie the villages of Beniarrés, Ràfol de Salem and Otos.
Read the complete Penya de Benicadell write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Penya de Benicadell comes up about 35 km into the recorded legs. Next is Abric del Gegant.
3. Abric del Gegant
Ontinyent is the kind of Valencian town that does not bother selling itself to tourists, which is part of its charm. It grew rich on textiles, and the old quarter of La Vila, perched above the gorge of the Clariano river, still has a fine bell tower that is among the tallest in the region. The Abric del Gegant, a rock shelter recorded among the prehistoric painted sites of eastern Spain, sits in the hills just outside town towards Bocairent, where the valley narrows and the Serra de Mariola begins to rise.
Read the complete Abric del Gegant write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 65 km into the recorded legs you reach Abric del Gegant. Next is Cova de la Petxina.
4. Cova de la Petxina
Bellús is a small village in the valley of the Albaida river in southern Valencia, just upstream from where the river flows into a reservoir and then joins the Júcar. The old village was partly flooded by the reservoir, and the new one stands on higher ground. The Cova de la Petxina, the cave of the shell, is in the hills near the village, close to Guadasequies and Genovés.
Read the complete Cova de la Petxina write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cova de la Petxina, about halfway. Next is back through Abric del Gegant.
5. back through Abric del Gegant
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Abric del Gegant write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Abric del Gegant sits at 102 km, about halfway. Next is back through Penya de Benicadell.
6. back through Penya de Benicadell
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Penya de Benicadell write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Penya de Benicadell comes up about 153 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cueva de la Clau.
7. 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
Cueva de la Clau closes the day.
Leg by leg
Cueva de la Clau to Penya de Benicadell
Cueva de la Clau → Penya de Benicadell is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Penya de Benicadell to Abric del Gegant
Penya de Benicadell → Abric del Gegant is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abric del Gegant to Cova de la Petxina
Abric del Gegant → Cova de la Petxina is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cova de la Petxina to back through Abric del Gegant
Cova de la Petxina → back through Abric del Gegant is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Abric del Gegant to back through Penya de Benicadell
back through Abric del Gegant → back through Penya de Benicadell is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Penya de Benicadell to Cueva de la Clau
back through Penya de Benicadell → Cueva de la Clau is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.