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 Albocàsser it runs 196 km to Albocàsser; allow about 4 h 39 of riding. It goes by way of Abric del mas dels Ous, Galeria del Roure, Abric de la Tenalla and back through Galeria del Roure. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,100 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. The line favours views over speed.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. L'Arc
L'Arc means the arch, and it is one of those place names that makes you look up. In the limestone of the Maestrat, weathering has worked on the rock for millions of years, carving ledges, hollows, pinnacles and now and then a natural arch or bridge where a thin wall has been eaten through. The shelter lies about six kilometres from Albocàsser, and carries painting in the Levantine tradition, protected by UNESCO as part of the rock art of the Mediterranean basin in Spain. The ride links it with the Arenal de la Fonseca, a sandy ledge where the rock crumbles to grit.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
L'Arc is where the day begins. Next is Abric del mas dels Ous.
2. Abric del mas dels Ous
Xert is the kind of village you pass through on the way to somewhere else and then wonder why you did not stop. It lies in the Baix Maestrat in northern Castellón, below a ridge of bare limestone, with the old village climbing the slope and a newer part down by the road. The shelter called the Abric del Mas dels Ous, the shelter of the farmhouse of the eggs, is out in the dry hills nearby, between Xert, Canet lo Roig and Rosell.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abric del mas dels Ous comes up about 21 km into the recorded legs. Next is Galeria del Roure.
3. Galeria del Roure
Morella rises from the plateau of the Ports like something from a dream: a walled town wrapped around a rocky hill, crowned by a castle, with the Gothic basilica of Santa María la Mayor in the middle, and two kilometres of medieval walls with towers and gates running around the base. It is one of the most impressive historic towns in Spain, and the Galeria del Roure, a rock shelter about four kilometres away, is part of the cluster of prehistoric sites around Morella, including Morella la Vella, one of the important rock-art sites of the Valencian region, all part of the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean rock art. The shelters are small and some are protected, so ask at the tourist office in town about visits.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 54 km into the recorded legs you reach Galeria del Roure. Next is Abric de la Tenalla.
4. Abric de la Tenalla
The Tinença de Benifassà is one of the wildest corners of the Valencian region, a cluster of tiny villages in the mountains where Valencia, Catalonia and Aragon meet, and the Abric de la Tenalla lies on its southeastern edge, near Rosell. It is one of the many rock shelters in this area with prehistoric paintings, part of the UNESCO-listed rock art of the Mediterranean Basin, and the nearby Serra de Godall and the Ulldecona shelters to the east are among the most important sites in Catalonia. The landscape is dramatic: limestone cliffs, deep gorges, pine and holm oak forests, and abandoned terraces where shepherds once grazed their flocks.