Why this ride
From Mérida it runs 424 km to Mérida; allow about 5 h 43 of riding. The stops in between: Old Town of Cáceres, Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalup and back through Old Town of Cáceres. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Sta. Catalina Basilica and Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalup
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 424 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 43
- 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.
Scenic road chapters
Sta. Catalina Basilica → Old Town of Cáceres
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 83 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 74 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Sta. Catalina Basilica
Mérida is best taken as a whole, and the stretch of streets around the basilica is a good place to do that. Within a few hundred metres you can find a Roman theatre built around 16 BC, an amphitheatre beside it, the temple of Diana, now partly incorporated into a Renaissance palace, and a long granite bridge across the Guadiana that carried the Via de la Plata and still serves pedestrians today.
Read the complete Sta. Catalina Basilica write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sta. Catalina Basilica is where the day begins. Next is Old Town of Cáceres.
2. Old Town of Cáceres
Cáceres has an old town so complete that film crews treat it as a ready-made set, and walking its streets at dusk, when the stone glows amber and the crowds have gone, you can see why. Inside the walls, built largely by the Almohads in the twelfth century, are dozens of fortified mansions, towers, churches and palaces, many built by noble families who made their fortunes in the conquest of the Americas. The towers once had battlements, but Queen Isabella ordered most of them cut down to curb the nobles' power. UNESCO listed the old town in 1986.
Read the complete Old Town of Cáceres write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Old Town of Cáceres comes up about 74 km into the recorded legs. Next is Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalup.
3. Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalup
Planning note
about 211 km into the recorded legs you reach Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalup. Next is back through Old Town of Cáceres.
4. back through Old Town of Cáceres
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Old Town of Cáceres write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Old Town of Cáceres, late in the day. Next is Sta. Catalina Basilica, 102 km on.
5. Sta. Catalina Basilica
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sta. Catalina Basilica write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Sta. Catalina Basilica. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Sta. Catalina Basilica to Old Town of Cáceres
Sta. Catalina Basilica → Old Town of Cáceres is 74 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Old Town of Cáceres to Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalup
Old Town of Cáceres → Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalup is 137 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalup to back through Old Town of Cáceres
Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalup → back through Old Town of Cáceres is 138 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Old Town of Cáceres to Sta. Catalina Basilica
back through Old Town of Cáceres → Sta. Catalina Basilica is 74 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Thermal Baths at Reyes Huertas St. and Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalup · 425 km
- San Lázaro Aqueduct and Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalup · 424 km
- National Museum of Roman Art and Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalup · 428 km
- Sta. Eulalia Obelisk and Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalup · 425 km