Why this ride
154 km from Nerpio to Nerpio, about 3 h 42 of riding. It goes by way of Concejal I, Cueva del Gitano and back through Concejal I. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,400 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Las Casas de las Ingenieros I and Cueva del Gitano
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 154 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 42
- 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. Las Casas de las Ingenieros I
The name points to engineers, and in this corner of Albacete the likeliest explanation is water. The upper Segura and Taibilla valleys feed reservoirs and canals that supply towns and farms far down toward Murcia and the coast, and the people who built and maintained that system needed houses in a remote landscape. Las Casas de los Ingenieros sits some distance from Nerpio, in a quiet valley of pine, scrub and farmland, with a rock shelter nearby, and the whole area is dotted with painted shelters from the prehistoric past. Other shelters in the area carry the names of the people who first recorded them, a reminder of how recently some of these sites were noticed.
Read the complete Las Casas de las Ingenieros I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Las Casas de las Ingenieros I is where the day begins. Next is Concejal I.
2. Concejal I
Concejal is the name of a rock shelter in the sierra above Nerpio, a part of southern Albacete that most Spaniards have never visited. It is numbered I in a series of shelters, and its paintings belong to the Levantine tradition that UNESCO recognised in 1998. There is a Canto Blanco shelter in the same ride, a white rock that gives it its name, and the pair give a feel of how densely the land was used by prehistoric people.
Read the complete Concejal I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Concejal I comes up about 26 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cueva del Gitano.
3. Cueva del Gitano
Some places are remote on the map and remote in the gut, and the country around the Cueva del Gitano is both. It lies in the Sierra de Segura on the southern fringe of Albacete province, in the municipality of Nerpio, where the mountains of Albacete, Murcia, Jaén and Granada all run into one another. This is one of the richest areas for prehistoric rock art in Spain, with dozens of painted shelters along the valley of the Taibilla river and its side ravines, and the Cueva del Gitano is one of the smaller sites in that dense cluster. The art is faint, the walk can be rough, and the setting does most of the talking.
Read the complete Cueva del Gitano write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 70 km into the recorded legs you reach Cueva del Gitano. Next is back through Concejal I.
4. back through Concejal I
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Concejal I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Concejal I, late in the day. Next is Las Casas de las Ingenieros I.
5. Las Casas de las Ingenieros I
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Las Casas de las Ingenieros I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Las Casas de las Ingenieros I. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Las Casas de las Ingenieros I to Concejal I
Las Casas de las Ingenieros I → Concejal I is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Concejal I to Cueva del Gitano
Concejal I → Cueva del Gitano is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cueva del Gitano to back through Concejal I
Cueva del Gitano → back through Concejal I is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Concejal I to Las Casas de las Ingenieros I
back through Concejal I → Las Casas de las Ingenieros I is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.