Why this ride
282 km from Valderrobres to Valderrobres, about 6 h 05 of riding. It goes by way of Roca dels moros, Val del Charco del Agua Amarga, Val de mamet I and back through Val del Charco del Agua Amarga. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
La fenellosa and Val de mamet I
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 282 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 05
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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. La fenellosa
People in Aragón like to call the Matarraña their Tuscany, and for once the comparison is not entirely marketing. It is a comarca of honey-coloured stone villages on hilltops, olive groves on terraces, almond trees and vineyards, with the limestone wall of the Ports de Beseit rising behind. La Fenellosa lies in this country, between Valderrobres, Fuentespalda and Mas de Barberans across the Catalan line, in the rough hills where the farmland gives way to the mountains.
Read the complete La fenellosa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
La fenellosa is where the day begins. Next is Roca dels moros.
2. Roca dels moros
In 1903, a young man from Calaceite named Juan Cabré, who would go on to become one of Spain's pioneering archaeologists, found painted figures of deer and other animals in a rock shelter in the Calapatá ravine, between Calaceite and Cretas. The Roca dels Moros became one of the first sites of Levantine rock art identified in Spain, and it helped open up a whole new field of study. Today it is part of the UNESCO listing of rock art of the Mediterranean Basin, and a visit here is a small pilgrimage to the beginnings of that story.
Read the complete Roca dels moros write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Roca dels moros comes up 32 km in. Next is Val del Charco del Agua Amarga.
3. Val del Charco del Agua Amarga
Around ten kilometres from Alcañiz, in a dry ravine among olive groves and limestone ledges, a rock shelter holds one of the most celebrated scenes of Levantine rock art in Spain. The paintings at Val del Charco del Agua Amarga show archers in motion, hunting and perhaps fighting, their thin bodies drawn with a few confident strokes in red. Many experts consider it one of the finest examples in the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean rock art, and seeing it, even protected behind a fence, gives a real jolt of connection to people who lived here several thousand years ago.
Read the complete Val del Charco del Agua Amarga write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
63 km in you reach Val del Charco del Agua Amarga. Next is Val de mamet I.
4. Val de mamet I
The Ebro river cuts through Aragon in a wide, dry valley, and where it meets its tributaries the Segre and Cinca around Mequinenza it was dammed in the twentieth century to make long, narrow lakes among bare hills. Val de Mamet is a dry side valley in this country, with a shelter that holds prehistoric paintings. The surroundings are arid and open, with low limestone cliffs, thyme and rosemary scrub, and scattered pines and almonds, and the silence is broken mostly by the wind and the occasional hawk.
Read the complete Val de mamet I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Val de mamet I, about halfway. Next is back through Val del Charco del Agua Amarga.
5. back through Val del Charco del Agua Amarga
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Val del Charco del Agua Amarga write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Val del Charco del Agua Amarga sits at 126 km, about halfway. Next is back through Roca dels moros.
6. back through Roca dels moros
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Roca dels moros write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Roca dels moros comes up 158 km in. Next is La fenellosa.
7. La fenellosa
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete La fenellosa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
La fenellosa closes the day.
Leg by leg
La fenellosa to Roca dels moros
La fenellosa → Roca dels moros is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Roca dels moros to Val del Charco del Agua Amarga
Roca dels moros → Val del Charco del Agua Amarga is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Val del Charco del Agua Amarga to Val de mamet I
Val del Charco del Agua Amarga → Val de mamet I is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Val de mamet I to back through Val del Charco del Agua Amarga
Val de mamet I → back through Val del Charco del Agua Amarga is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Val del Charco del Agua Amarga to back through Roca dels moros
back through Val del Charco del Agua Amarga → back through Roca dels moros is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Roca dels moros to La fenellosa
back through Roca dels moros → La fenellosa is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Valmayor V and Val de mamet I · 288 km
- Val de Caballé I and Abric d'Esquarterades I · 472 km
- Els Secans and Els figuerals · 100 km