Poblet Monastery and Abric de les Llibreres

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Poblet Monastery

   Few places in Catalonia carry as much weight as Poblet. The Cistercian monastery was founded in the middle of the twelfth century on land granted by Count Ramon Berenguer IV, and over the following generations it became the royal pantheon of the Crown of Aragon, the place where kings chose to be buried under carved alabaster. It is still a working community of monks, which gives the vast walled complex a quietness that the coach parties never quite manage to break. UNESCO listed it in 1991, and walking through the outer gates, past the first enclosure and into the cloister, you feel the scale of medieval monastic power in a way that a textbook never conveys.

   Read the complete Poblet Monastery write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Poblet Monastery is where the day begins. Next is Balma d'En Roc.

2. 2. Balma d'En Roc

   Inland from the Costa Daurada, the Serra de Llaberia rises abruptly above the coastal plain, a jagged wall of limestone separating the sea from the valley of the Ebro. The rock shelter of Balma d'En Roc lies in this rough country, part of the Levantine rock art inscribed by UNESCO, and like most of its kind it is small, fragile and best visited with local guidance. The nearest villages are scattered: Ginestar on the Ebro, El Perelló on the coastal side, and Mont-roig del Camp to the north-east.

   Read the complete Balma d'En Roc write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Balma d'En Roc comes up about 86 km into the recorded legs. Next is Abric de les Llibreres.

3. 3. Abric de les Llibreres

   The Montsià range rises abruptly from the coastal plain at the southern tip of Catalonia, a long, rocky ridge of limestone that separates the Ebro delta from the inland valleys. Around its foot lie the villages of Santa Bàrbara, Masdenverge and Ulldecona, surrounded by olive groves, some of them with ancient trees hundreds of years old, their trunks twisted into extraordinary shapes. The Abric de les Llibreres is one of the prehistoric rock shelters in this area, part of the UNESCO-listed rock art of the Mediterranean Basin.

   Read the complete Abric de les Llibreres write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 145 km into the recorded legs you reach Abric de les Llibreres. Next is back through Balma d'En Roc.

4. 4. back through Balma d'En Roc

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Balma d'En Roc write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Balma d'En Roc, late in the day. Next is Poblet Monastery.

5. 5. Poblet Monastery

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Poblet Monastery write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Poblet Monastery. That is the ride.