Renaissance Monumental Ensembles of Úbeda and Cortijo de la Rosa
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
502 km
Riding-time estimate
10 h 27
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.
From Úbeda it runs 502 km to Úbeda; allow about 10 h 27 of riding. On the way it passes Abrigo del.melgar, Cañada de la Cruz, Cortijo de la Rosa and back through Cañada de la Cruz. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,400 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. The line favours views over speed.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Renaissance Monumental Ensembles of Úbeda
Úbeda stands on a ridge above an ocean of olive trees. In every direction, the province of Jaén rolls away in silver-green rows, millions of trees planted in geometric lines up to the horizon, and on this sea floats a town of honey-coloured stone that looks as if it had been lifted from Florence. In the sixteenth century, powerful local families who served the Spanish crown, above all Francisco de los Cobos, secretary to Emperor Charles V, poured their wealth into palaces and churches here, and the architect Andrés de Vandelvira gave them a Renaissance style of rare purity. Úbeda and its smaller neighbour Baeza were inscribed together on the UNESCO list in 2003.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Renaissance Monumental Ensembles of Úbeda is where the day begins. Next is Abrigo del.melgar, 46 km on.
2. Abrigo del.melgar
Quesada is a white town at the foot of the Sierra de Cazorla, in the province of Jaén, surrounded by an ocean of olive trees. The groves stretch to the horizon in every direction, a landscape that makes Jaén the world's largest producer of olive oil. Behind the town, the mountains rise steeply, with pine forest and limestone cliffs, and the Guadalquivir river has its source not far away. The Abrigo del Melgar lies in the hills just outside the town.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abrigo del.melgar comes up about 47 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cañada de la Cruz.
3. Cañada de la Cruz
The Cañada de la Cruz is a high valley or drovers' pasture in the Segura mountains; cañada is the word for the traditional livestock routes and grazing grounds used by shepherds moving their flocks between summer and winter pastures, and this part of Spain has a long history of transhumance.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 192 km into the recorded legs you reach Cañada de la Cruz. Next is Cortijo de la Rosa.
4. Cortijo de la Rosa
A cortijo is a farm in the Andalusian style, a cluster of whitewashed buildings around a yard, and the one named for La Rosa stands in the mountains of the Sierra del Segura, where Albacete, Murcia and Jaén meet. The shelter nearby, one of the many in the Nerpio district, lies about twelve kilometres from the village of Nerpio and a good deal farther from anything else. It carries paintings of the old Levantine kind, protected by UNESCO as part of the Mediterranean rock art of Spain, and the ride links it with another site at Benizar, in the Moratalla district across the border in Murcia.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Renaissance Monumental Ensembles of Úbeda closes the day.
Leg by leg
Renaissance Monumental Ensembles of Úbeda to Abrigo del.melgar
Renaissance Monumental Ensembles of Úbeda → Abrigo del.melgar is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abrigo del.melgar to Cañada de la Cruz
Abrigo del.melgar → Cañada de la Cruz is 145 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cañada de la Cruz to Cortijo de la Rosa
Cañada de la Cruz → Cortijo de la Rosa is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cortijo de la Rosa to back through Cañada de la Cruz
Cortijo de la Rosa → back through Cañada de la Cruz is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cañada de la Cruz to back through Abrigo del.melgar
back through Cañada de la Cruz → back through Abrigo del.melgar is 128 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Abrigo del.melgar to Renaissance Monumental Ensembles of Úbeda
back through Abrigo del.melgar → Renaissance Monumental Ensembles of Úbeda is 67 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.