Why this ride
A 128 km round trip from Palma de Gandía - roughly 4 h 07 in the saddle. It goes by way of Cova Llarga, Racó de Sorellets- Abric I and back through Cova Llarga. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Cueva de la Clau and Racó de Sorellets- Abric I
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 128 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 07
- 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 Cova Llarga.
2. 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 comes up about 27 km into the recorded legs. Next is Racó de Sorellets- Abric I.
3. Racó de Sorellets- Abric I
The Racó de Sorellets is tucked between Castell de Castells and Vall d'Ebo, and to reach it you cross some of the most rugged ground in northern Alicante. This is the country of the Serrella and its neighbours, a jumble of ridges and ravines that the sea breeze hardly reaches, where goats still graze and the villages cling to the sides of the valley. Pego sits ten kilometres away on the plain, and the gap in character between the two is startling.
Read the complete Racó de Sorellets- Abric I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 63 km into the recorded legs you reach Racó de Sorellets- Abric I. Next is back through Cova Llarga.
4. back through 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 through Cova Llarga, late in the day. Next is Cueva de la Clau.
5. 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 at Cueva de la Clau. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Cueva de la Clau to Cova Llarga
Cueva de la Clau → Cova Llarga is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cova Llarga to Racó de Sorellets- Abric I
Cova Llarga → Racó de Sorellets- Abric I is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Racó de Sorellets- Abric I to back through Cova Llarga
Racó de Sorellets- Abric I → back through Cova Llarga is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cova Llarga to Cueva de la Clau
back through Cova Llarga → Cueva de la Clau is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.