Why this ride
A 103 km round trip from Bolulla - roughly 2 h 23 in the saddle. On the way it passes Barraac de la Palla, Cova Jeroni and back through Barraac de la Palla.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Penya Escrita and Cova Jeroni
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 103 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 23
- 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 Escrita
In the folded limestone hills behind the Costa Blanca, far enough inland that the resorts feel like another country, a rock shelter called Penya Escrita holds prehistoric paintings. The name means something like the written rock, which is what the people of Tàrbena and Bolulla called it long before archaeologists arrived. The figures belong to the rock art of the Mediterranean Basin of the Iberian Peninsula, a UNESCO site made up of hundreds of shelters scattered from Catalonia down to Andalusia, painted by hunter-gatherers and early farmers thousands of years ago. They are small, faded and easy to miss, and they are best appreciated with patience rather than expectation.
Read the complete Penya Escrita write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Penya Escrita is where the day begins. Next is Barraac de la Palla.
2. Barraac de la Palla
Tormos and Sagra are tiny villages at the foot of the mountains in the north of Alicante province, at the point where the plain of the Marina Alta meets the hills. They are surrounded by orange groves and orchards, with the mountains of the Vall de Laguar and the Serra del Migdia rising steeply behind. The Barranc de la Palla, the ravine of the straw, cuts into the hills near Tormos, close also to Orba and the town of Pego.
Read the complete Barraac de la Palla write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Barraac de la Palla comes up about 28 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cova Jeroni.
3. Cova Jeroni
Cova Jeroni belongs to that quiet tangle of valleys behind Pego and Dénia where the Marina Alta hides its oldest stories. The shelters in this part of Alicante, along the ravines of Famorca, Ebo and Gallinera, carry some of the finest prehistoric art in eastern Spain, and they are listed together with hundreds of others as the rock art of the Mediterranean Basin. Do not expect a visitor centre and a car park; expect a dirt track, a short walk, a rock overhang and a few ochre figures that reward a long look.
Read the complete Cova Jeroni write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 51 km into the recorded legs you reach Cova Jeroni. Next is back through Barraac de la Palla.
4. back through Barraac de la Palla
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Barraac de la Palla write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Barraac de la Palla, late in the day. Next is Penya Escrita.
5. Penya Escrita
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Penya Escrita write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Penya Escrita. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Penya Escrita to Barraac de la Palla
Penya Escrita → Barraac de la Palla is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Barraac de la Palla to Cova Jeroni
Barraac de la Palla → Cova Jeroni is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cova Jeroni to back through Barraac de la Palla
Cova Jeroni → back through Barraac de la Palla is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Barraac de la Palla to Penya Escrita
back through Barraac de la Palla → Penya Escrita is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.