Why this ride
A 254 km round trip from Vall de Gallinera - roughly 5 h 53 in the saddle. It goes by way of Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III, Coves Roges Abric II-III, Barranc del Xorquet and Pinós.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Racó del Pou and Pinós
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 254 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 53
- 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. Racó del Pou
The Safor is the fertile coastal strip around Gandia, and behind it rise abrupt limestone hills, the Serra de la Safor and its neighbours, where the orange groves give way to pine, scrub and terraces of olives and almonds. Racó del Pou, a sheltered corner in these hills between Villalonga and the Vall d'Ebo, is one of the many rock shelters of the region that hold prehistoric paintings, part of the Mediterranean rock art group listed by UNESCO. Like most of them, it is modest and protected, but the walk up and the view over the hills to the sea are reason enough to come.
Read the complete Racó del Pou write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Racó del Pou is where the day begins. Next is Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III.
2. Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III
Murla sits in the Vall de Pop, a broad valley of vines, oranges and almonds where the Girona river runs down from the mountains towards the coast at El Verger. The ravine of Alpadull cuts into the hills above, and in one of its shelters, the third along, there are prehistoric paintings, part of the great scatter of rock art across Mediterranean Spain that UNESCO lists as a single site. Like most of these shelters, it is better approached as a reason to wander a beautiful valley than as a spectacle in itself.
Read the complete Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III comes up about 35 km into the recorded legs. Next is Coves Roges Abric II-III.
3. Coves Roges Abric II-III
Behind the Costa Blanca, between the beaches and the hills, lies a country of steep limestone valleys, almond terraces and tiny villages that few tourists reach. Coves Roges, the Red Caves, are shelters in the rock near Castell de Castells and Tàrbena, in the Marina Alta, where the Serra d'Aitana rises to over fifteen hundred metres and the Guadalest valley cuts deep into the mountains. Rock shelters here were painted and used in prehistory, and this part of Alicante has some of the best-known Levantine art, such as the shelters at Pla de Petracos not far away.
Read the complete Coves Roges Abric II-III write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 66 km into the recorded legs you reach Coves Roges Abric II-III. Next is Barranc del Xorquet.
4. Barranc del Xorquet
Ask a cyclist on the Costa Blanca about Coll de Rates and watch their face change. The pass road climbing from Parcent toward Tàrbena is a pilgrimage for professional teams in winter training, and it lies only a few kilometres from the Barranc del Xorquet, one of the ravines in the tangled limestone hills behind the coast. This is an area rich in prehistoric rock art: the shelters at Pla de Petracos near Castell de Castells hold some of the best examples of the so-called macro-schematic style, big abstract human figures painted in red thousands of years ago, and the ravines around here hide further sites.
Read the complete Barranc del Xorquet write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Barranc del Xorquet, about halfway. Next is Pinós.
5. 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 sits at 67 km, about halfway. Next is back through Barranc del Xorquet.
6. back through Barranc del Xorquet
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Barranc del Xorquet 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 Xorquet comes up about 164 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Coves Roges Abric II-III.
7. back through Coves Roges Abric II-III
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Coves Roges Abric II-III write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 189 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Coves Roges Abric II-III. Next is back through Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III.
8. back through Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III, late in the day. Next is Racó del Pou.
9. Racó del Pou
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Racó del Pou 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 254 km.
Leg by leg
Racó del Pou to Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III
Racó del Pou → Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III to Coves Roges Abric II-III
Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III → Coves Roges Abric II-III is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Coves Roges Abric II-III to Barranc del Xorquet
Coves Roges Abric II-III → Barranc del Xorquet is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Barranc del Xorquet to Pinós
Barranc del Xorquet → Pinós is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Pinós to back through Barranc del Xorquet
Pinós → back through Barranc del Xorquet is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Barranc del Xorquet to back through Coves Roges Abric II-III
back through Barranc del Xorquet → back through Coves Roges Abric II-III is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Coves Roges Abric II-III to back through Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III
back through Coves Roges Abric II-III → back through Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III to Racó del Pou
back through Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric III → Racó del Pou is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.