Why this ride
355 km from Altea to Altea, about 6 h 38 of riding. On the way it passes Barranc de la magrana, Cova de la Petxina, Barranc de la Penya Blanca and Abric de la monja. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Penya del Vicari and Abric de la monja
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 355 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 38
- 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. Penya del Vicari
On a map of the Costa Blanca, the Serra de Bernia looks like a wall dropped between two very different worlds. On one side, high-rise Benidorm and the busy coast; on the other, the quiet valleys of Jalón and Guadalest. The Penya del Vicari is one of the rocky outcrops in these hills above Altea and Calp, a place where the limestone is cut by caves and shelters, some of which carry traces of prehistoric painting. It is a small, quiet site in an area otherwise famous for sun loungers.
Read the complete Penya del Vicari write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Penya del Vicari is where the day begins. Next is Barranc de la magrana.
2. Barranc de la magrana
Behind the holiday coast of Dénia and Xàbia, the mountains of the Marina Alta fold into steep, narrow valleys that have more in common with the Moorish past than with the beach towns. Vall d'Ebo, Adsubia and Villalonga are small places among the ridges, and the Barranc de la Magrana is one of the ravines cut into the limestone. The Moors, who farmed these terraces for centuries, were forced to leave Spain in 1609, and the expulsion of the Moriscos began in these valleys, where some of them rose in revolt against the order, retreating to the heights before being defeated. The old irrigation channels and terraces they built are still in use.
Read the complete Barranc de la magrana write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Barranc de la magrana comes up about 49 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cova de la Petxina.
3. Cova de la Petxina
Bellús is a small village in the valley of the Albaida river in southern Valencia, just upstream from where the river flows into a reservoir and then joins the Júcar. The old village was partly flooded by the reservoir, and the new one stands on higher ground. The Cova de la Petxina, the cave of the shell, is in the hills near the village, close to Guadasequies and Genovés.
Read the complete Cova de la Petxina write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 104 km into the recorded legs you reach Cova de la Petxina. Next is Barranc de la Penya Blanca.
4. Barranc de la Penya Blanca
Planes is a small village in the hills of the Comtat in northern Alicante province, crowned by a castle and looking out over a valley of olive and cherry orchards. The Barranc de la Penya Blanca, the ravine of the white rock, lies close by, among the folded limestone ridges between Planes, Benimarfull and the reservoir at Beniarrés.
Read the complete Barranc de la Penya Blanca write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Barranc de la Penya Blanca, about halfway. Next is Abric de la monja.
5. Abric de la monja
Ontinyent sits in the Vall d'Albaida, in the south of Valencia, a town of about thirty-eight thousand people with a long textile tradition that goes back to wool, blankets and, more recently, home textiles. The Clariano river runs through it, and the hills around are wrinkled limestone, covered in pine, holm oak and wild herbs. In the shelter of those hills, small rock overhangs, called abrics here, carry paintings made by prehistoric people, and the Abric de la Monja is one of them, part of the Mediterranean Basin rock art that UNESCO listed in 1998.
Read the complete Abric de la monja write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abric de la monja sits at 139 km, about halfway. Next is back through Barranc de la Penya Blanca.
6. back through Barranc de la Penya Blanca
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Barranc de la Penya Blanca write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Barranc de la Penya Blanca comes up about 212 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Cova de la Petxina.
7. back through Cova de la Petxina
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cova de la Petxina write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 252 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Cova de la Petxina. Next is back through Barranc de la magrana.
8. back through Barranc de la magrana
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Barranc de la magrana write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Barranc de la magrana, late in the day. Next is Penya del Vicari.
9. Penya del Vicari
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Penya del Vicari write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 355 km.
Leg by leg
Penya del Vicari to Barranc de la magrana
Penya del Vicari → Barranc de la magrana is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Barranc de la magrana to Cova de la Petxina
Barranc de la magrana → Cova de la Petxina is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cova de la Petxina to Barranc de la Penya Blanca
Cova de la Petxina → Barranc de la Penya Blanca is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Barranc de la Penya Blanca to Abric de la monja
Barranc de la Penya Blanca → Abric de la monja is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abric de la monja to back through Barranc de la Penya Blanca
Abric de la monja → back through Barranc de la Penya Blanca is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Barranc de la Penya Blanca to back through Cova de la Petxina
back through Barranc de la Penya Blanca → back through Cova de la Petxina is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cova de la Petxina to back through Barranc de la magrana
back through Cova de la Petxina → back through Barranc de la magrana is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Barranc de la magrana to Penya del Vicari
back through Barranc de la magrana → Penya del Vicari is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.