Why this ride
518 km from Alcañiz to Alcañiz, about 9 h 33 of riding. The stops in between: Val de mamet I, Mallata C, Les Coves and Cova del Tabac. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Val del Charco del Agua Amarga and Cova del Tabac
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 518 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. Val del Charco del Agua Amarga
Around ten kilometres from Alcañiz, in a dry ravine among olive groves and limestone ledges, a rock shelter holds one of the most celebrated scenes of Levantine rock art in Spain. The paintings at Val del Charco del Agua Amarga show archers in motion, hunting and perhaps fighting, their thin bodies drawn with a few confident strokes in red. Many experts consider it one of the finest examples in the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean rock art, and seeing it, even protected behind a fence, gives a real jolt of connection to people who lived here several thousand years ago.
Read the complete Val del Charco del Agua Amarga write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Val del Charco del Agua Amarga is where the day begins. Next is Val de mamet I.
2. Val de mamet I
The Ebro river cuts through Aragon in a wide, dry valley, and where it meets its tributaries the Segre and Cinca around Mequinenza it was dammed in the twentieth century to make long, narrow lakes among bare hills. Val de Mamet is a dry side valley in this country, with a shelter that holds prehistoric paintings. The surroundings are arid and open, with low limestone cliffs, thyme and rosemary scrub, and scattered pines and almonds, and the silence is broken mostly by the wind and the occasional hawk.
Read the complete Val de mamet I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Val de mamet I comes up 49 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
98 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 196 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 245 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
294 km in you reach back through Mallata C. Next is back through Val de mamet I.
8. back through Val de mamet I
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Val de mamet I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Val de mamet I, late in the day. Next is Val del Charco del Agua Amarga.
9. Val del Charco del Agua Amarga
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Val del Charco del Agua Amarga 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 518 km.
Leg by leg
Val del Charco del Agua Amarga to Val de mamet I
Val del Charco del Agua Amarga → Val de mamet I is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Val de mamet I to Mallata C
Val de mamet I → Mallata C is 54 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 Val de mamet I
back through Mallata C → back through Val de mamet I is 54 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Val de mamet I to Val del Charco del Agua Amarga
back through Val de mamet I → Val del Charco del Agua Amarga is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Abrigo del Plano del Pulido and Cova del Tabac · 503 km
- Els Secans and Cova del Tabac · 497 km
- Mallata C and Val de mamet I · 203 km