The and Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés starting at Torredembarra
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
303 km
Riding-time estimate
5 h 06
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.
A 303 km round trip from Torredembarra - roughly 5 h 06 in the saddle. The stops in between: Britus Il, Albi II / Balma dels Punts, Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés and back through Albi II / Balma dels Punts. The line favours views over speed.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. The
Just inland from the beach at Altafulla, on the Costa Daurada north of Tarragona, the remains of a grand Roman villa look out over the Mediterranean. This is the Villa dels Munts, one of the finest Roman country houses in Catalonia, built in the first and second centuries AD, with baths, gardens, mosaics and painted walls. It is thought to have belonged to an important citizen of Tarraco, the Roman capital of the province of Hispania Tarraconensis, and it is part of the World Heritage inscription of the Archaeological Ensemble of Tarraco, inscribed in 2000. The villa's setting, on a gentle slope above the sea, makes it easy to see why a wealthy Roman would choose it for a retreat.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The is where the day begins. Next is Britus Il.
2. Britus Il
What matters is the country around it, which is some of the finest in inland Catalonia. You are in the Conca de Barberà, the basin of the Francolí river, a few kilometres from the walled town of Montblanc and the village of Alcover, with the wooded wall of the Serra de Prades rising to the west. The area is dotted with prehistoric rock shelters, part of the great arc of Mediterranean rock art that runs down eastern Spain, and many of the site names along these rides are exactly that: a ledge of sandstone or limestone where hunters painted deer and archers thousands of years ago.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Britus Il comes up about 60 km into the recorded legs. Next is Albi II / Balma dels Punts.
3. Albi II / Balma dels Punts
L'Albi is a small village on a hill in Les Garrigues, the dry, olive-covered district southeast of Lleida, and its name appears in the archaeological record thanks to rock shelters in the area, including the Balma dels Punts, the shelter of the dots. The name suggests schematic paintings in the form of dots and lines, typical of the later phase of prehistoric art in the region, and the site is part of the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean rock art. The shelters are small and fragile, and some can only be visited with a guide, so check with the town hall or a local interpretation centre before heading out.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 104 km into the recorded legs you reach Albi II / Balma dels Punts. Next is Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés.
4. Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés
South of Lleida the irrigated orchards give way abruptly to dry, open steppe, and the little village of Alfés sits on the edge of that change. The Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés are rock paintings in a small sandstone shelter near the village, schematic designs in red pigment, mostly abstract lines, dots and simplified figures, that belong to the later, more symbolic phase of prehistoric art in eastern Spain, and they are included in the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean Basin rock art. They are modest to look at, but there is something powerful about seeing marks left by people thousands of years ago in such an open, wind-swept place.