Why this ride
329 km from Alcañiz to Alcañiz, about 6 h 42 of riding. The stops in between: Cueva de mas del Abogat, Els figuerals, Prop de la Cova Pintada and back through Els figuerals. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Val del Charco del Agua Amarga and Prop de la Cova Pintada
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 329 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 42
- 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 Cueva de mas del Abogat.
2. Cueva de mas del Abogat
Calaceite is the kind of village that makes you slow down without being asked: honey-coloured stone, arcaded squares, a big baroque church and grand old houses with carved doorways, all perched on a ridge in the Matarraña, the corner of Teruel where Aragón meets Catalonia and Valencia. A few kilometres from it lies the Cueva de Mas del Abogat, one of the painted rock shelters that belong to the UNESCO listing of prehistoric art in the Mediterranean Basin of the Iberian Peninsula. As with its sisters across eastern Spain, the paintings are small and often hard to read; the setting is what you take away.
Read the complete Cueva de mas del Abogat write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cueva de mas del Abogat comes up 27 km in. Next is Els figuerals.
3. Els figuerals
The Matarraña, or Matarranya in Catalan, is the corner of Teruel that tourism brochures like to call Spain's Tuscany, and for once the comparison is not silly. Olive groves and almond orchards climb rolling hills topped by stone villages with church towers, while to the south the limestone wall of the Ports de Beseit rises abruptly, cut by gorges and clear rivers. Near the village of Fuentespalda, a painted shelter called Els Figuerals adds this valley to the long UNESCO roll of Iberian rock art.
Read the complete Els figuerals write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
54 km in you reach Els figuerals. Next is Prop de la Cova Pintada.
4. Prop de la Cova Pintada
The Ports massif rises abruptly at the meeting point of Catalonia, Aragón and Valencia, a tangle of limestone peaks, deep gorges and pine forest that feels surprisingly wild given how close it is to the Ebro delta and the coast. Prop de la Cova Pintada, meaning near the painted cave, sits on its southern side, between Mas de Barberans, Valderrobres and the old city of Tortosa.
Read the complete Prop de la Cova Pintada write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Prop de la Cova Pintada, about halfway. Next is back through Els figuerals.
5. back through Els figuerals
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Els figuerals write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Els figuerals sits at 107 km, about halfway. Next is back through Cueva de mas del Abogat.
6. back through Cueva de mas del Abogat
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cueva de mas del Abogat write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Cueva de mas del Abogat comes up 134 km in. Next is Val del Charco del Agua Amarga.
7. 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
Val del Charco del Agua Amarga closes the day.
Leg by leg
Val del Charco del Agua Amarga to Cueva de mas del Abogat
Val del Charco del Agua Amarga → Cueva de mas del Abogat is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cueva de mas del Abogat to Els figuerals
Cueva de mas del Abogat → Els figuerals is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Els figuerals to Prop de la Cova Pintada
Els figuerals → Prop de la Cova Pintada is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Prop de la Cova Pintada to back through Els figuerals
Prop de la Cova Pintada → back through Els figuerals is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Els figuerals to back through Cueva de mas del Abogat
back through Els figuerals → back through Cueva de mas del Abogat is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cueva de mas del Abogat to Val del Charco del Agua Amarga
back through Cueva de mas del Abogat → Val del Charco del Agua Amarga is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.