Why this ride
264 km from Sagrada Família to Sagrada Família, about 4 h 28 of riding. The stops in between: La Pedra de les Orenetes, Cova dels Segarulls, Cova de Vallmajor and back through Cova dels Segarulls. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Nativity Façade and Crypt of the Basílica and Cova de Vallmajor
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 264 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 28
- 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.
Scenic road chapters
Monserrat Mountain Road
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 30 km this is Monserrat Mountain Road, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 30 km
- Named road
- Monserrat Mountain Road
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Nativity Façade and Crypt of the Basílica
Gaudí took forty-three years of his life on the Sagrada Família and still did not see it finished. He began work in 1883, soon after taking over from another architect, and from the 1890s onward he devoted himself to it almost completely, living in a workshop on site in his last years. The Nativity Façade, on the east side, is the part that he built the most of, and it was the only one to be substantially completed in his lifetime. Its carved portals teem with plants, animals and figures, tortoises at the foot of its columns included, and the effect is like a cliff of stone coral.
Read the complete Nativity Façade and Crypt of the Basílica write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Nativity Façade and Crypt of the Basílica is where the day begins. Next is La Pedra de les Orenetes.
2. La Pedra de les Orenetes
La Pedra de les Orenetes, the Swallows' Stone, is a granite boulder in the hills above La Roca del Vallès, and its surface is covered with small carved hollows and other marks left by people in prehistory. Nobody knows exactly what they meant; such engraved rocks are found across Catalonia, and theories range from ritual offerings to maps of the stars. The rock sits among cork oaks and pines in the Serralada Litoral, the coastal range that separates the Vallès plain from the sea, and the walk to reach it is short and pleasant, through scented forest with views over the plain.
Read the complete La Pedra de les Orenetes write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
La Pedra de les Orenetes comes up about 30 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cova dels Segarulls.
3. Cova dels Segarulls
The vineyards of the Penedès roll out in every direction from Vilafranca, and the Cova dels Segarulls lies among them, a few kilometres outside the town in the low hills toward the coastal range.
Read the complete Cova dels Segarulls write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 102 km into the recorded legs you reach Cova dels Segarulls. Next is Cova de Vallmajor.
4. Cova de Vallmajor
Inland from the Costa Daurada, behind the beach towns of El Vendrell and Calafell, the land rises into the low hills of the Baix Penedès, a landscape of vineyards, almond and olive groves, pine woods and small villages. The Cova de Vallmajor, near Albinyana and Bonastre, is a rock shelter in these hills with prehistoric paintings, part of the Levantine rock art of the Mediterranean that is recognised as a World Heritage Site. The paintings are faint and the shelter is protected, so visits are usually by arrangement.
Read the complete Cova de Vallmajor write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cova de Vallmajor, about halfway. Next is back through Cova dels Segarulls.
5. back through Cova dels Segarulls
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cova dels Segarulls write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Cova dels Segarulls sits at 183 km, about halfway. Next is back through La Pedra de les Orenetes.
6. back through La Pedra de les Orenetes
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete La Pedra de les Orenetes write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through La Pedra de les Orenetes comes up about 234 km into the recorded legs. Next is Nativity Façade and Crypt of the Basílica.
7. Nativity Façade and Crypt of the Basílica
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Nativity Façade and Crypt of the Basílica write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Nativity Façade and Crypt of the Basílica closes the day.
Leg by leg
Nativity Façade and Crypt of the Basílica to La Pedra de les Orenetes
Nativity Façade and Crypt of the Basílica → La Pedra de les Orenetes is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
La Pedra de les Orenetes to Cova dels Segarulls
La Pedra de les Orenetes → Cova dels Segarulls is 72 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Cova dels Segarulls to Cova de Vallmajor
Cova dels Segarulls → Cova de Vallmajor is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cova de Vallmajor to back through Cova dels Segarulls
Cova de Vallmajor → back through Cova dels Segarulls is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cova dels Segarulls to back through La Pedra de les Orenetes
back through Cova dels Segarulls → back through La Pedra de les Orenetes is 73 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through La Pedra de les Orenetes to Nativity Façade and Crypt of the Basílica
back through La Pedra de les Orenetes → Nativity Façade and Crypt of the Basílica is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.