Why this ride
From Benifallim it runs 236 km to Benifallim; allow about 5 h 01 of riding. The stops in between: Cova Alta- Abric I, Pinós, Pla de Petracos- Abric I and back through Pinós.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Port de Penaguila- Abric II and Pla de Petracos- Abric I
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 236 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 01
- 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. Port de Penaguila- Abric II
The Port de Penàguila is a mountain pass in the interior of Alicante province, on the road between Alcoy and the Vall de Guadalest, where the hills of the Comtat rise toward the Serra d'Aitana, the highest range in the province. The village of Penàguila, below the pass, is a small, ancient place huddled beneath a castle on a rocky crest, and Benilloba, Cocentaina and Alcoy are all close. The second shelter of the Port de Penàguila is one of several painted sites in the area.
Read the complete Port de Penaguila- Abric II write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Port de Penaguila- Abric II is where the day begins. Next is Cova Alta- Abric I.
2. Cova Alta- Abric I
The Vall d'Ebo is one of the quietest places in the Marina Alta, a high valley of fewer than four hundred people in the mountains behind Dénia, and the Cova Alta, the High Cave, stands above it on the slopes of the surrounding ridges. Castell de Castells is the nearest village, about three kilometres off, and Benimantell and Vall d'Ebo are the neighbours. The shelter carries painted figures in the Levantine style, protected with the rest of the region's rock art by UNESCO, and it is one of a group of caves that the rides tie together around the Port de Penàguila.
Read the complete Cova Alta- Abric I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cova Alta- Abric I comes up about 46 km into the recorded legs. Next is Pinós.
3. 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
about 74 km into the recorded legs you reach Pinós. Next is Pla de Petracos- Abric I.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is back through Pinós.
5. back through 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
back through Pinós sits at 99 km, about halfway. Next is back through Cova Alta- Abric I.
6. back through Cova Alta- Abric I
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cova Alta- 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 Cova Alta- Abric I comes up about 190 km into the recorded legs. Next is Port de Penaguila- Abric II.
7. Port de Penaguila- Abric II
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Port de Penaguila- Abric II write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Port de Penaguila- Abric II closes the day.
Leg by leg
Port de Penaguila- Abric II to Cova Alta- Abric I
Port de Penaguila- Abric II → Cova Alta- Abric I is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cova Alta- Abric I to Pinós
Cova Alta- Abric I → Pinós is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Pinós to Pla de Petracos- Abric I
Pinós → Pla de Petracos- Abric I is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Pla de Petracos- Abric I to back through Pinós
Pla de Petracos- Abric I → back through Pinós is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Pinós to back through Cova Alta- Abric I
back through Pinós → back through Cova Alta- Abric I is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cova Alta- Abric I to Port de Penaguila- Abric II
back through Cova Alta- Abric I → Port de Penaguila- Abric II is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.