Peña del Escrito II and El Corral de Silla- Abric l
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
329 km
Riding-time estimate
5 h 53
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.
A 329 km round trip from Villar del Humo - roughly 5 h 53 in the saddle. The stops in between: Barranco del Pajarejo, El Corral de Silla- Abric l and back through Barranco del Pajarejo. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,400 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Peña del Escrito II
The wording is a clue: Peña del Escrito means the rock that is written on, and that is an old local way of describing a shelter with painted figures. This one lies in the Serranía de Cuenca, near the small village of Villar del Humo, in a country of deep gorges, pine woods and limestone cliffs. The paintings belong to the Levantine tradition, red figures of animals and people, and the area is recognised by UNESCO as part of the rock art of the Mediterranean basin of the Iberian peninsula.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Peña del Escrito II is where the day begins. Next is Barranco del Pajarejo.
2. Barranco del Pajarejo
Red rock, dark pines and a sky that seems higher than it should be: that is the country south of Albarracín, where the Barranco del Pajarejo cuts into the sandstone. Geologists call this stone rodeno, a coarse red sandstone that weathers into towers, overhangs and smooth shelters, and prehistoric people used those shelters as canvases. The Pinares de Rodeno protected landscape around Albarracín holds a well-known group of painted shelters with bulls, deer and human figures in white and red, and this gully is part of that wider area, quiet and seldom visited.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Barranco del Pajarejo comes up about 71 km into the recorded legs. Next is El Corral de Silla- Abric l.
3. El Corral de Silla- Abric l
The Valencia hinterland hides one of Europe's oldest art galleries in the cracks of its limestone. Corral de Silla is one of the rock shelters of the Mediterranean Basin rock art, a group of sites in eastern Spain that UNESCO listed in 1998. The paintings are in the Levantine style, small, lively figures of archers, deer and wild goats in red or black pigment, and are thought to be thousands of years old, with the exact dates still debated by specialists. Access to such shelters is often controlled, and many are reached only on foot, so it is worth checking before arriving.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Peña del Escrito II. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Peña del Escrito II to Barranco del Pajarejo
Peña del Escrito II → Barranco del Pajarejo is 71 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Barranco del Pajarejo to El Corral de Silla- Abric l
Barranco del Pajarejo → El Corral de Silla- Abric l is 94 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
El Corral de Silla- Abric l to back through Barranco del Pajarejo
El Corral de Silla- Abric l → back through Barranco del Pajarejo is 87 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Barranco del Pajarejo to Peña del Escrito II
back through Barranco del Pajarejo → Peña del Escrito II is 78 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.