Why this ride
From Mazarrón it runs 395 km to Mazarrón; allow about 7 h 32 of riding. It goes by way of maina, Los Grajos, Cueva de los Pucheros and Cueva de las Conchas. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Cueva de la Higuera and Cueva de las Conchas
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 395 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 32
- 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 Higuera
Mazarrón has always been about what lies under the ground. Roman miners dug silver and lead from these dry hills, and later generations extracted alum and ochre, and the coast near the town still shows the scars and the rust-coloured earth of that trade. Two Phoenician ships from about the seventh century BC were found wrecked on the nearby shore, an astonishing find for archaeologists. The Cueva de la Higuera lies inland from the coast in the arid hills of the Región de Murcia, and its name means the cave of the fig tree, a small mark of green in a very dry place.
Read the complete Cueva de la Higuera write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cueva de la Higuera is where the day begins. Next is maina.
2. maina
Maina is an obscure name on the map in the Murcian hills north-west of Totana, where the Sierra Espuña rises above the valley of the Guadalentín. It refers to a rock shelter or painted site in the dry limestone country, part of the cluster of prehistoric art sites around here included in the World Heritage listing of Levantine rock art. As with many such places, there is often little to see without a guide, but the landscape around it is worth the ride.
Read the complete maina write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
maina comes up about 53 km into the recorded legs. Next is Los Grajos.
3. Los Grajos
Jackdaws gave this place its name, grajos in Spanish, and they still wheel and chatter around the limestone cliffs where prehistoric people once sheltered and painted. Los Grajos lies in the hills near Alhama de Murcia, in the valley of the Guadalentín, where dry mountains rise above a plain of orchards, greenhouses and towns. The rock shelters here hold paintings in the Levantine style, and access is generally restricted to protect them.
Read the complete Los Grajos write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 96 km into the recorded legs you reach Los Grajos. Next is Cueva de los Pucheros.
4. Cueva de los Pucheros
North-west of Cieza, the Segura river cuts through a dry landscape of limestone ridges, almond and fruit orchards, and rice fields that look out of place in arid Murcia. The Cueva de los Pucheros, a rock shelter in these hills between Cieza and Calasparra, is one of the many sites in the region holding prehistoric paintings, part of the UNESCO-listed Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula. Like most of these shelters, it is fragile and often protected by a fence, and access may require a guided visit arranged through the local authorities.
Read the complete Cueva de los Pucheros write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cueva de los Pucheros, about halfway. Next is Cueva de las Conchas.
5. Cueva de las Conchas
Cehegín's old town rises in a tight cluster of ochre houses and church towers on a hill above the Argos river, in the northwest of Murcia, and it is one of the best-preserved historic centres in the region, with narrow streets, noble houses and churches dating back to the sixteenth century. The Cueva de las Conchas, the cave of the shells, lies less than a kilometre from the town, and it is part of the rich network of prehistoric sites in this area, included in the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean rock art.
Read the complete Cueva de las Conchas write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cueva de las Conchas sits at 161 km, about halfway. Next is back through Cueva de los Pucheros.
6. back through Cueva de los Pucheros
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cueva de los Pucheros write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Cueva de los Pucheros comes up about 234 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Los Grajos.
7. back through Los Grajos
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Los Grajos write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 297 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Los Grajos. Next is back through maina.
8. back through maina
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete maina write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through maina, late in the day. Next is Cueva de la Higuera.
9. Cueva de la Higuera
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cueva de la Higuera 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 395 km.
Leg by leg
Cueva de la Higuera to maina
Cueva de la Higuera → maina is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
maina to Los Grajos
maina → Los Grajos is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Los Grajos to Cueva de los Pucheros
Los Grajos → Cueva de los Pucheros is 63 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cueva de los Pucheros to Cueva de las Conchas
Cueva de los Pucheros → Cueva de las Conchas is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cueva de las Conchas to back through Cueva de los Pucheros
Cueva de las Conchas → back through Cueva de los Pucheros is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cueva de los Pucheros to back through Los Grajos
back through Cueva de los Pucheros → back through Los Grajos is 63 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Los Grajos to back through maina
back through Los Grajos → back through maina is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through maina to Cueva de la Higuera
back through maina → Cueva de la Higuera is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Cueva de la Higuera and Abrigo de los Cortijos · 406 km
- maina and Cejo Cortado I · 288 km
- Los Grajos and Abrigo del milano · 188 km
- Cueva de la Plata and Abrigo del milano · 165 km