Mallata C and La Roca dels moros

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Mallata C

   Ontiñena is a small farming village on the Alcanadre river, at the edge of the Monegros, the dry, wind-scoured steppe of central Aragón. Out in the ravines around it, prehistoric people left painted figures in rock shelters, among them the site labelled Mallata C, one of the many small components of the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean rock art. The paintings are small, simple and best seen with a local guide, and the walk there crosses a landscape that seems built for epic films: gypsum hills, eroded gullies and wide skies.

   Read the complete Mallata C write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Mallata C is where the day begins. Next is Les Coves.

2. 2. Les Coves

   The western edge of Catalonia, around Lleida, is fruit country. Irrigation canals bring water from the Pyrenean rivers to a broad, flat plain of orchards growing apples, pears and peaches, laid out in neat lines that stretch to the horizon. Les Coves lies in this area, close to the Aragonese border, between Alfarràs, Albelda and Algerri, where the valley of the Noguera Ribagorçana spills out of the hills and onto the plain.

   Read the complete Les Coves write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Les Coves comes up about 68 km into the recorded legs. Next is La Roca dels moros.

3. 3. La Roca dels moros

   El Cogul is a village of a few dozen houses in Les Garrigues, the low, stony plateau of western Catalonia where the whole landscape seems to be one big olive grove. Just outside it, a wall of rock above a small valley holds one of the most important prehistoric paintings in the country. The shelter is known as the Roca dels Moros, the Moors' Rock, which is simply the Catalan habit of attributing anything old and mysterious to the Moors, and it was brought to scientific attention in the early twentieth century by a local priest.

   Read the complete La Roca dels moros write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 146 km into the recorded legs you reach La Roca dels moros. Next is back through Les Coves.

4. 4. back through Les Coves

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Les Coves write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Les Coves, late in the day. Next is Mallata C.

5. 5. Mallata C

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Mallata C write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Mallata C. That is the ride.