Why this ride
A 340 km round trip from Castell de Castells - roughly 5 h 48 in the saddle. The stops in between: Abric de Lambert, Abric del Espolón del Zapatero and back through Abric de Lambert.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Pla de Petracos- Abric I and Abric del Espolón del Zapatero
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 340 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 48
- 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. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Abric de Lambert.
2. Abric de Lambert
Cullera is not where most people would look for prehistory. It is a busy beach town at the mouth of the Júcar, with high-rise apartments along the sand, a lighthouse on the point and rice fields stretching inland toward the Albufera lagoon. But the town has a mountain at its back, a limestone outcrop crowned by a castle and a sanctuary, and in that rock there are shelters, including the one known as the Abric de Lambert.
Read the complete Abric de Lambert write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abric de Lambert comes up about 75 km into the recorded legs. Next is Abric del Espolón del Zapatero.
3. Abric del Espolón del Zapatero
The Cortes de Pallás area, in the interior of Valencia province, is one of the wildest places within an hour or two of the coast. The Júcar river has carved a deep canyon through the limestone, and the Muela de Cortes, a high plateau of rock and scrub, rises above it. Bicorp, Quesa and Millares are small villages on its edge, and the roads that link them are some of the twistiest in the region, with sections that cling to the sides of the gorge and open on huge views. Griffon vultures and golden eagles use the cliffs, and the pine woods are home to wild boar and roe deer.
Read the complete Abric del Espolón del Zapatero write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 165 km into the recorded legs you reach Abric del Espolón del Zapatero. Next is back through Abric de Lambert.
4. back through Abric de Lambert
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Abric de Lambert write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Abric de Lambert, late in the day. Next is Pla de Petracos- Abric I.
5. 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 at Pla de Petracos- Abric I. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Pla de Petracos- Abric I to Abric de Lambert
Pla de Petracos- Abric I → Abric de Lambert is 75 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abric de Lambert to Abric del Espolón del Zapatero
Abric de Lambert → Abric del Espolón del Zapatero is 90 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abric del Espolón del Zapatero to back through Abric de Lambert
Abric del Espolón del Zapatero → back through Abric de Lambert is 89 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Abric de Lambert to Pla de Petracos- Abric I
back through Abric de Lambert → Pla de Petracos- Abric I is 86 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.