Why this ride
From Alange it runs 206 km to Alange; allow about 2 h 49 of riding. It goes by way of Alcantarilla Bridge, Old Town of Cáceres and back through Alcantarilla Bridge. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Thermal Baths at Alange and Old Town of Cáceres
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 206 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 49
- 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
Ruta de la Plata
For about 29 km this is Ruta de la Plata, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it — expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 29 km
- Named road
- Ruta de la Plata
Alcantarilla Bridge → Old Town of Cáceres
82 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it. Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 75 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Thermal Baths at Alange
The Romans, who were serious about hot water, found a warm spring at Alange in what is now Extremadura and built a bathing complex around it, and the place is still used today. The Roman baths, about twenty kilometres from Mérida, include a domed chamber with stone benches and a pool fed by the spring, and the water comes out pleasantly warm, a gift in a dry country. The baths date from the time when Mérida, then called Emerita Augusta, was one of the great cities of Roman Spain, and wealthy citizens would travel here to relax and be cured.
Read the complete Thermal Baths at Alange write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Thermal Baths at Alange is where the day begins. Next is Alcantarilla Bridge.
2. Alcantarilla Bridge
Mérida was founded by the Romans in 25 BC as Augusta Emerita, a city for veterans of the Cantabrian wars, and it grew into the capital of the province of Lusitania. Few places in Spain carry their Roman past so openly. The small Alcantarilla bridge on the edge of town is one piece of the Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida, listed by UNESCO in 1993, and its name, from the Arabic for little bridge, tells you how many hands this landscape has passed through. It is a quiet, unassuming structure, and that is a good reason to start here before you tackle the big sights.
Read the complete Alcantarilla Bridge write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Alcantarilla Bridge comes up about 29 km into the recorded legs. Next is Old Town of Cáceres.
3. 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
about 104 km into the recorded legs you reach Old Town of Cáceres. Next is back through Alcantarilla Bridge.
4. back through Alcantarilla Bridge
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Alcantarilla Bridge write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Alcantarilla Bridge, late in the day. Next is Thermal Baths at Alange.
5. Thermal Baths at Alange
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Thermal Baths at Alange write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Thermal Baths at Alange. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Thermal Baths at Alange to Alcantarilla Bridge
Thermal Baths at Alange → Alcantarilla Bridge is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Alcantarilla Bridge to Old Town of Cáceres
Alcantarilla Bridge → Old Town of Cáceres is 75 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Old Town of Cáceres to back through Alcantarilla Bridge
Old Town of Cáceres → back through Alcantarilla Bridge is 75 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Alcantarilla Bridge to Thermal Baths at Alange
back through Alcantarilla Bridge → Thermal Baths at Alange is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.