Why this ride
A 458 km round trip from Castell de Castells - roughly 10 h 30 in the saddle. It goes by way of Barranc de mastec, Abric de la Penya, Abric del Voro and Barranco del Cabezo del moro. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Pla de Petracos- Abric I and Barranco del Cabezo del moro
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 458 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 10 h 30
- 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 Barranc de mastec.
2. Barranc de mastec
Between Cocentaina and Alcoy, in the hilly interior of Alicante province, a small ravine called the Barranc de Mastec holds rock shelters with prehistoric paintings, part of the UNESCO listing of rock art of the Mediterranean Basin. This corner of Spain is particularly rich in it, with styles ranging from the naturalistic Levantine figures of hunters and animals to the strange, abstract macro-schematic art that seems unique to these valleys. The ravine is surrounded by terraced olive and almond groves, pine woods and limestone crags.
Read the complete Barranc de mastec write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Barranc de mastec comes up about 44 km into the recorded legs. Next is Abric de la Penya.
3. Abric de la Penya
Moixent, or Mogente in Castilian, stands at the head of a corridor that has carried traffic between the Valencian coast and the interior of Castile for as long as anyone has been moving goods. The old road, the railway and now the motorway all funnel through here, between low limestone ridges with vineyards and olive groves in the valley floor. The rock shelter known as the Abric de la Penya sits in this landscape a few kilometres from the town, close also to Vallada.
Read the complete Abric de la Penya write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 86 km into the recorded legs you reach Abric de la Penya. Next is Abric del Voro.
4. Abric del Voro
The Canal de Navarrés is a wide valley in the interior of Valencia province, surrounded by limestone mountains and deep gorges, and the Abric del Voro lies in the hills between Quesa and Bicorp, two small villages in the heart of some of the wildest country in the region. It is one of the many rock shelters with prehistoric paintings in the area, part of the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean rock art. The valley's most famous site is close by: the Cuevas de la Araña near Bicorp, where a painting of a figure climbing ropes to collect honey from a wild bees' nest, surrounded by bees, is one of the best-known images of prehistoric art in Spain, often cited as one of the earliest depictions of honey gathering.
Read the complete Abric del Voro write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abric del Voro, about halfway. Next is Barranco del Cabezo del moro.
5. Barranco del Cabezo del moro
Almansa is one of those towns you see from the motorway and do not stop at, and that is a mistake. Its castle is spectacular, a Gothic fortress built on a sharp limestone outcrop right in the middle of town, looking exactly like a child's drawing of a castle. Around it spreads a wide plain at about seven hundred metres, the meeting point of the Valencian, Murcian and Castilian lands, and a few kilometres out in the surrounding hills lies the ravine known as the Barranco del Cabezo del Moro.
Read the complete Barranco del Cabezo del moro write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Barranco del Cabezo del moro sits at 140 km, about halfway. Next is back through Abric del Voro.
6. back through Abric del Voro
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Abric del Voro write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Abric del Voro comes up about 321 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Abric de la Penya.
7. back through Abric de la Penya
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Abric de la Penya write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 372 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Abric de la Penya. Next is back through Barranc de mastec.
8. back through Barranc de mastec
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Barranc de mastec 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 mastec, late in the day. Next is Pla de Petracos- Abric I.
9. 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
The route ends here after 458 km.
Leg by leg
Pla de Petracos- Abric I to Barranc de mastec
Pla de Petracos- Abric I → Barranc de mastec is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Barranc de mastec to Abric de la Penya
Barranc de mastec → Abric de la Penya is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abric de la Penya to Abric del Voro
Abric de la Penya → Abric del Voro is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abric del Voro to Barranco del Cabezo del moro
Abric del Voro → Barranco del Cabezo del moro is 91 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Barranco del Cabezo del moro to back through Abric del Voro
Barranco del Cabezo del moro → back through Abric del Voro is 95 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Abric del Voro to back through Abric de la Penya
back through Abric del Voro → back through Abric de la Penya is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Abric de la Penya to back through Barranc de mastec
back through Abric de la Penya → back through Barranc de mastec is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Barranc de mastec to Pla de Petracos- Abric I
back through Barranc de mastec → Pla de Petracos- Abric I is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.