Why this ride
A 322 km round trip from Benasau - roughly 5 h 23 in the saddle. The stops in between: Coves Santes de Dalt, Abric de Lambert and back through Coves Santes de Dalt. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
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.
A 322 km round trip from Benasau - roughly 5 h 23 in the saddle. The stops in between: Coves Santes de Dalt, Abric de Lambert and back through Coves Santes de Dalt. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Inland from Benidorm, barely half an hour from the tower blocks and beaches, the mountains of the Alicante interior rise steep and empty. Morro Carrascal is a rocky height in this country, near the villages of Benilloba, Sella and Benimantell, where the sierras of Aitana, Serrella and Mariola come together. Shelters in these mountains hold prehistoric paintings in both the Levantine and the older Macroschematic styles, and they belong to the World Heritage listing of Iberian rock art.
Read the complete Morro Carrascal write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Morro Carrascal is where the day begins. Next is Coves Santes de Dalt.
The Montgó is the great limestone hulk that rises between Dénia and Jávea on the Costa Blanca, a mountain that looks like a sleeping elephant from some angles and dominates every view along this stretch of coast. On its flanks, in shelters and small caves, are prehistoric paintings, and the Coves Santes de Dalt, the upper holy caves, are among the sites in the area recorded as part of the UNESCO Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin. The paintings here are mostly schematic, simpler and more abstract than the hunting scenes found inland, and the shelters are protected, so viewing usually needs a guided visit.
Read the complete Coves Santes de Dalt write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Coves Santes de Dalt comes up about 79 km into the recorded legs. Next is Abric de Lambert.
Cullera is not where most people would look for prehistory. It is a busy beach town at the mouth of the Júcar, with high-rise apartments along the sand, a lighthouse on the point and rice fields stretching inland toward the Albufera lagoon. But the town has a mountain at its back, a limestone outcrop crowned by a castle and a sanctuary, and in that rock there are shelters, including the one known as the Abric de Lambert.
Read the complete Abric de Lambert write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 160 km into the recorded legs you reach Abric de Lambert. Next is back through Coves Santes de Dalt.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Coves Santes de Dalt write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Coves Santes de Dalt, late in the day. Next is Morro Carrascal.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Morro Carrascal write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Back at Morro Carrascal. That is the ride.
Morro Carrascal → Coves Santes de Dalt is 79 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Coves Santes de Dalt → Abric de Lambert is 81 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Abric de Lambert → back through Coves Santes de Dalt is 83 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Coves Santes de Dalt → Morro Carrascal is 79 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.