Valmayor IV and Cova del Tabac

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Valmayor IV

   Where the Ebro, the Segre and the Cinca meet in eastern Aragon, a vast reservoir stretches for dozens of kilometres between bare, ochre hills. The locals call it the Mar de Aragón, the Sea of Aragon, and it was created in the 1960s when the Mequinenza dam flooded the valley. The old town of Mequinenza went under the water too, and its people were moved to a new town built above, a story told in moving detail in the local museums and in the novels of Jesús Moncada, who grew up there.

   Read the complete Valmayor IV write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Valmayor IV is where the day begins. Next is Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés.

2. 2. 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.

   Read the complete Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés comes up about 68 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cova del Tabac.

3. 3. 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

   about 129 km into the recorded legs you reach Cova del Tabac. Next is back through Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés.

4. 4. back through Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés, late in the day. Next is Valmayor IV.

5. 5. Valmayor IV

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Valmayor IV write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Valmayor IV. That is the ride.