Why this ride
491 km from Mequinensa / Mequinenza to Mequinensa / Mequinenza, about 9 h 33 of riding. It goes by way of mas de Torres, Mallata C, Les Coves and Cova del Tabac. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Roca de marta and Cova del Tabac
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 491 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 9 h 33
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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. Roca de marta
Mequinenza lies where the Segre river meets the Ebro, and the town you see today is not the one that stood here before the 1960s. When a dam was built downstream on the Ebro, the old town was flooded by the reservoir, known as the Mar de Aragón, and its people moved to a new settlement on higher ground. The old castle still sits above the water, and the reservoir stretches in long fingers between bare, ochre hills. It is a landscape both beautiful and a little melancholy, and the lake is famous among anglers for enormous catfish.
Read the complete Roca de marta write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Roca de marta is where the day begins. Next is mas de Torres.
2. mas de Torres
The Monegros in high summer is the closest thing Europe has to a desert, a wide, dry plateau of gypsum hills, wheat stubble and steppe scrub under a hard, white sky. Near the village of Candasnos, close to the main road between Zaragoza and Lleida, the shelter labelled Mas de Torres is one of the rock art sites of the Mediterranean Basin listed by UNESCO, a reminder that people lived and hunted here long before the land dried out to its present state.
Read the complete mas de Torres write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
mas de Torres comes up 43 km in. Next is Mallata C.
3. Mallata C
Ontiñena is a small farming village on the Alcanadre river, at the edge of the Monegros, the dry, wind-scoured steppe of central Aragón. Out in the ravines around it, prehistoric people left painted figures in rock shelters, among them the site labelled Mallata C, one of the many small components of the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean rock art. The paintings are small, simple and best seen with a local guide, and the walk there crosses a landscape that seems built for epic films: gypsum hills, eroded gullies and wide skies.
Read the complete Mallata C write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
87 km in you reach Mallata C. Next is Les Coves.
4. Les Coves
The western edge of Catalonia, around Lleida, is fruit country. Irrigation canals bring water from the Pyrenean rivers to a broad, flat plain of orchards growing apples, pears and peaches, laid out in neat lines that stretch to the horizon. Les Coves lies in this area, close to the Aragonese border, between Alfarràs, Albelda and Algerri, where the valley of the Noguera Ribagorçana spills out of the hills and onto the plain.
Read the complete Les Coves write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Les Coves, about halfway. Next is Cova del Tabac.
5. Cova del Tabac
Above the village of Camarasa, where the Segre comes out of the pre-Pyrenean hills onto the plain of Lleida, a cave in the limestone holds some of the most interesting rock paintings in Catalonia. The Cova del Tabac, the tobacco cave, is a wide shelter with schematic paintings, simplified human figures, animals and symbols in red, and it is one of the sites included in the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean rock art on the Iberian Peninsula. A short walk leads up from the road to the shelter, which also offers a fine view over the valley, and on a clear day the Pyrenees rise white on the northern horizon.
Read the complete Cova del Tabac write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cova del Tabac sits at 174 km, about halfway. Next is back through Les Coves.
6. back through Les Coves
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Les Coves write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Les Coves comes up 217 km in. Next is back through Mallata C.
7. back through Mallata C
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mallata C write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
260 km in you reach back through Mallata C. Next is back through mas de Torres.
8. back through mas de Torres
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete mas de Torres write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through mas de Torres, late in the day. Next is Roca de marta.
9. Roca de marta
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Roca de marta 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 491 km.
Leg by leg
Roca de marta to mas de Torres
Roca de marta → mas de Torres is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
mas de Torres to Mallata C
mas de Torres → Mallata C is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mallata C to Les Coves
Mallata C → Les Coves is 66 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Les Coves to Cova del Tabac
Les Coves → Cova del Tabac is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cova del Tabac to back through Les Coves
Cova del Tabac → back through Les Coves is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Les Coves to back through Mallata C
back through Les Coves → back through Mallata C is 66 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Mallata C to back through mas de Torres
back through Mallata C → back through mas de Torres is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through mas de Torres to Roca de marta
back through mas de Torres → Roca de marta is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.