Why this ride
A 211 km round trip from Benissa - roughly 4 h 34 in the saddle. On the way it passes Pla de Petracos- Abric I, Barranc del Salt- Abric l, Barranc de les Coves- Abric I and back through Barranc del Salt- Abric l.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Pinós and Barranc de les Coves- Abric I
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 211 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 34
- 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. Pinós
Inland from the busy coast of the Marina Alta, behind Benissa and Calp, the land folds into a series of steep, terraced valleys where almond and olive trees cling to dry-stone walls and white farmhouses sit among the pines. Pinós is a rural area in the hills near Benissa, Senija and Jalón, and the rides link it to the rock-art shelters of the barrancs, the ravines that cut through the limestone of this region, part of the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean prehistoric art. The exact contents of the nearby shelters are for specialists, but the landscape itself has a quiet, timeless beauty, especially in the soft light of late afternoon.
Read the complete Pinós write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Pinós is where the day begins. Next is Pla de Petracos- Abric I.
2. Pla de Petracos- Abric I
Pla de Petracos is one of the most important prehistoric art sites in Spain, and it looks like nothing much: a row of shallow shelters in the side of a ravine near Castell de Castells, in the high interior of the Marina Alta. What makes it special is the style. The paintings here are among the clearest examples of what archaeologists call Macroschematic art, large, bold, almost abstract human figures with raised arms and serpentine forms, painted by the first farming communities of the region in the early Neolithic. Elsewhere in the Valencian mountains you find Levantine hunting scenes; here you find something stranger and more symbolic. A short path and viewing platforms make the panels accessible, and the information boards help you see what the eye misses at first.
Read the complete Pla de Petracos- Abric I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Pla de Petracos- Abric I comes up about 27 km into the recorded legs. Next is Barranc del Salt- Abric l.
3. Barranc del Salt- Abric l
Benilloba is a tiny village in the Comtat, the mountainous district north of Alcoy in the province of Alicante, with fewer than a thousand people, a church and a cluster of stone houses among olive and almond groves. The Barranc del Salt, the waterfall ravine, cuts through the hills nearby, and its first shelter is one of the many painted sites in the region that are part of the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean rock art. The Comtat and the neighbouring Alcoià are particularly rich in this heritage, with all three main styles of prehistoric painting represented: Levantine, schematic and the older Macro-schematic, unique to this small area, with large, enigmatic figures.
Read the complete Barranc del Salt- Abric l write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 75 km into the recorded legs you reach Barranc del Salt- Abric l. Next is Barranc de les Coves- Abric I.
4. Barranc de les Coves- Abric I
Ibi is the toy capital of Spain, a fact that surprises everyone who rides through this mountain town in the hills of Alicante. Since the early twentieth century, workshops here have produced dolls, tin toys and plastic figures, and the Valencian Toy Museum tells the story. The rock shelter named Barranc de les Coves Abric I lies in the hills between Ibi and Alcoy, in a ravine whose name simply means the gully of the caves.
Read the complete Barranc de les Coves- Abric I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Barranc de les Coves- Abric I, about halfway. Next is back through Barranc del Salt- Abric l.
5. back through Barranc del Salt- Abric l
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Barranc del Salt- Abric l write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Barranc del Salt- Abric l sits at 99 km, about halfway. Next is back through Pla de Petracos- Abric I.
6. back through Pla de Petracos- Abric I
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Pla de Petracos- Abric I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Pla de Petracos- Abric I comes up about 182 km into the recorded legs. Next is Pinós.
7. Pinós
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Pinós write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Pinós closes the day.
Leg by leg
Pinós to Pla de Petracos- Abric I
Pinós → Pla de Petracos- Abric I is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Pla de Petracos- Abric I to Barranc del Salt- Abric l
Pla de Petracos- Abric I → Barranc del Salt- Abric l is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Barranc del Salt- Abric l to Barranc de les Coves- Abric I
Barranc del Salt- Abric l → Barranc de les Coves- Abric I is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Barranc de les Coves- Abric I to back through Barranc del Salt- Abric l
Barranc de les Coves- Abric I → back through Barranc del Salt- Abric l is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Barranc del Salt- Abric l to back through Pla de Petracos- Abric I
back through Barranc del Salt- Abric l → back through Pla de Petracos- Abric I is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Pla de Petracos- Abric I to Pinós
back through Pla de Petracos- Abric I → Pinós is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.