Cueva Negra del Bosque and Barranc de la Penya Blanca
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
511 km
Riding-time estimate
11 h 58
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.
From Alpera it runs 511 km to Alpera; allow about 11 h 58 of riding. On the way it passes Peñon de los machos, Abrigo de Rosser, Cova de la Petxina and Barranc de la Penya Blanca. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 850 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Cueva Negra del Bosque
The Cueva Negra del Bosque lies about five and a half kilometres from Alpera, on the high plateau where La Mancha begins to fold into the hills of Valencia, and it is one of the painted shelters of the district. It carries rock art in the Levantine tradition, protected by UNESCO as part of the rock art of the Mediterranean basin in Spain, and the ride links it with the Abric de Lambert, a site far to the east. Alpera is the best known name of the area, because of the Cueva de la Vieja, but there are other shelters scattered in the limestone gullies.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cueva Negra del Bosque is where the day begins. Next is Peñon de los machos.
2. 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Peñon de los machos comes up about 63 km into the recorded legs. Next is Abrigo de Rosser.
3. Abrigo de Rosser
Near Bicorp, in the dry, folded hills of inland Valencia, one of the most famous images in prehistoric art was found in 1920: a figure clinging to ropes on a cliff, reaching into a hole surrounded by bees, a honey gatherer painted thousands of years ago in the Cuevas de la Araña. The Abrigo de Rosser lies in the same rugged area of the Canal de Navarrés and the Júcar gorges, one of many shelters with Levantine paintings in this region, and together they form part of the UNESCO-listed Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin. Bicorp has a small interpretation centre, and guided visits to some shelters can be arranged.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 137 km into the recorded legs you reach Abrigo de Rosser. 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cova de la Petxina, about halfway. Next is Barranc de la Penya Blanca.
5. Barranc de la Penya Blanca
Planes is a small village in the hills of the Comtat in northern Alicante province, crowned by a castle and looking out over a valley of olive and cherry orchards. The Barranc de la Penya Blanca, the ravine of the white rock, lies close by, among the folded limestone ridges between Planes, Benimarfull and the reservoir at Beniarrés.