2,001 km
of
bends
 
2,001 kilometres of bends. Navarre is the odyssey...

ROUTES: Valencia - Pamplona (769 km)

GET A FEEL FOR THE ASPHALT!

Distance: 769 km
Date prepared: 0000-00-00
Date updated: 0000-00-00

Description

A beautiful journey that, after letting us enyoy the countryside of Cuenca, Teruel, Zaragoza, Soria and La Rioja, will take us into Navarra.



Roadbook

769 km. (30 sections)
Motorways and highways: 67 km
Local / Secondary: 702 km

section1

VALENCIA - Bétera (18 km)

We leave Valencia on the CV-310, a secondary level road, and we reach Bétera after driving on it for 13 km. We are still in the outskirts of Valencia, and so we can see houses along most of the road on this stretch.
 

section2

Bétera - CV-25 (13 km)

We stay on this road past Bétera and soon after this we turn left towards Segorbe on the CV-333, also a secondary road.

We head north-east, and drive on a mostly straight road, passing the housing estates of La Malla, El Brucar, Los pinares, Pedralvilla and La Lloma, until we reach a roundabout which takes us onto the CV-25 towards Olocau.

section3

CV-25 - Altura (28 km)

At Olocau we also enter into the Calderona Mountain Range, a natural park that covers nearly 18000 hectares, where we can enjoy the uncountable bends on the narrow road, until we reach the town of Altura, after passing through Marines and Gátova.

section4

Altura - Alcublas (23 km)

At Olocau we change roads, onto the CV-245, also a secondary road with a well-kept surface. The first 6 km are straight, but at the 66th kilometric point of our route, we start a bendy ascent that will continue until our milometer marks the 72nd km. Now the countryside turns more desertic, and we reach Alcublas, town where we enter into the Serranía del Turia.

section5

Alcublas - CV-341 (7 km)

A big green signpost thanks us for visiting this town, as we leave it and head for Villas on a nameless asphalted country lane.

A roundabout at the end of this path announces a change of road, and takes us towards Pobleta on the CV-341.

section6

CV-341 - La Pobleta (8 km)

We head towards La Pobleta, that stands at an altitude of 1000m over sea level, and enjoy the views of varying countryside and great panoramic views from between the dense forests of kermes oak, gall-oak, and various kinds of pine trees.

The tarmac is very good, and the first few kilometres of this stretch will let you lay over from side to side over the zig zag bends.

We have now covered one third of our route, as we reach La Pobleta, town which we leave by taking the Camino de las Collalbas (the Path to the Collalbas).

section7

La Pobleta - V-345 (8 km)

This road, that doesn't have any official name, goes on for 8 km on an old, narrow road, so we suggest moderating your speed to 60 km/h, and enjoy the views.

Three km before the¡is path ends, the surface improves and widens, and there's even a line separating the two lanes.

We then reach a Stop sign where we turn right to join the CV-345.

section8

V-345 - Titaguas (29 km)

we are now driving through the area of Los Serranos, on the CV-345, for the next 29km, until we reach Titaguas. This road and its flanking trees take us to La Yesa, a town that was of interest to a Spanish Historical figure, El Cid Campeador, who conquered these lands in the XI Century. Here the landscape becomes more arid.

We have now covered 134 km since we left Valencia, as we reach Titagua. A bit of trivia: This town has a music band called La Lira, founded in 1840, and catalogued as the second oldest band in the Comunidad de Valencia.

section9

Titaguas - CM-9221 (19 km)

We leave Titaguas heading north-east on the CV-35, a trunk road with good tarmac and quite straight.

We drive through Aras de Los Olmos and soon after that we start driving downhill on a bendy road until, at the 153rd kilometre of our route, we leave the Comunidad de Valencia and enter into Castilla la Mancha, through the province of Cuenca.

section10

CM-9221 - Sta. Cruz de Moya (6 km)

The road surface changes with the change of province. In this case it improves as we drive on this mountain road. We cross the Turia river over a narrow bridge and drive into the town of Santa Cruz de Moya, where we can stop to have lunch at the Manolón restaurant, halfway between Valencia and Tragacete, our final destination of the day.

section11

Sta. Cruz de Moya - N-330 (9 km)

We leave Sant Cruz de Moya with a full stomach, and drive up from 800m to 1100m above sea level on a well-kept, bendy road. We can admire the views of the town where we have tasted the local delicacies by looking at our rear-view mirrors as we drive along.

As we drive along the 9 km that will take us to the next roundabout, the road widens, and we continue straight on at this roundabout.

section12

N-330 - Landete (7 km)

A six km straight stretch takes us to Landete on the N-330, a nice, wide road, as are most national roads.

section13

Landete - N-420 (31 km)

Here we change roads, leaving the town on the CM-215 towards the west, and, after driving for only seven km, we enter into the Serranía de Cuenca, or the mountain range of Cuenca, where the vegetation makes its comeback.

Due to the lack of bends and the good surface, we will soon be driving past the towns of Fuentelespino de Moya, Campillos-Paravientos and Boniches, and will soon change roads again at a Stop sign, were we turn left towards Cuenca.

section14

N-420 - CUENCA (68 km)

We are now on the longest, fastest stretch of this route. These 68 km will take us into Cuenca over long stright stretches of wide road.

You shouldn't take more than 40 minutes to reach the capital, but, if you have time, we suggest a turnoff between the 462nd  and the 461st kilometric point, 27 km from Cuenca, that will take you to the Caña del Hoyo lakes in just six km, a complex of seven lakes that, with their size, colours and surroundings, will leave you breathless.

When we have driven 274 km on this route, we will reach Cuenca.

section15

CUENCA - CM-2106 (59 km)

Cuenca is a town that needs a couple of days to visit it properly, but as this is not our goal, and we are still 400km away from our final destination, we will continue onto Tragacete to spend the night there. To reach Tragacete, we leave Cuenca on the CM-2105, towards Serranía, and Hoz del Júcar, and follow this road for the rest of this stretch, which makes this stretch all the more interesting.

22 km after Cuenca, ehading north, we drive through Villalba de la Sierra on its south side, and three km after that, we reach Ventano del Diablo, a great viewpoint with great views of the canyon of the Júcar river, the forests of Serranía and Villalba de la Sierra.

We drive on towards Tragacete and, at the 306th kilometric point of this route,we drive past another interesting place to stop and visit: the Enchanted City. Another day, perhaps.

Five km on, we reach the town of Uña, where there is a lake by the side of the road, and after driving on for a further 6 km, we reach the Toba water reserve, and drive on its bendy road for another 5 km.

Once past the water reserve, we continue north, until, once past the town of Huélamo, we change roads without noticing it and join the CM-2106, another primary road.

section16

CM-2106 - Tragacete (8 km)

We are now very close to the day's final destination, as we drive on these well-kept eight km of road, heading north, and following the Júcar river, until we reach Tragacete, where we will spend the night, and continue towards Navarra with its wide variety of countrysides in the morning.

section17

Tragacete - CM-2201 (31 km)

We start on this long leg of the journey halfway between Valencia and Pamplona. We leave Tragacete heading north, as we will for most of this route, with the exception of a short stretch that will take us north-east through Soria, where we will stop for lunch.

And so we leave on the CM-2106 and drive on this nice, wide road, flanked by trees which don't let us see the horizon.

Where we are only 12 km on our way, we can see the access to the Source of the Cuervo river, a lovely place which we should visit some other time. But as we don't have that time today, we will continue north, until, at the 27th kilometric point of our route, we find ourselves changing roads even though we continue driving straight on, joining the CM-2201 towards Masegosa and Beteta.

section18

CM-2201 - CM-210 (11 km)

We start on a slight downwards slope that takes us down 200m in the next seven km, until we reach Masegosa, where, for a while, we can see the horizon.

Four km further on, we turn right, towards Poveda and Molina, changing roads.

section19

CM-210 - A-202 (77 km)

We are now driving on one of the longest stretches of this route, which will keep us on the -210 for seventy-seven km.

We pass by the town of Cueva del Hierro and soon after that we cross the Alto Tajo natural park, driving on a bendy road, until we reach Taravilla, where the road straightens out a bit.

We stay on this wide road for forty km, and reach Molina de Aragón, one of the most important towns in the province of Guadalajara. Its castle is the second largest in Spain, and it boasts the Romanic church of Santa Clara and a lovely bridge made of red sandstone.

We leave this town behind us drive on the CM-210 as we pass the towns of Rueda de La Sierra and Cillas.

At the 115th kilometre of this route we change roads as we enter the province of Zaragoza.

section20

A-202 - Calatayud (43 km)

This road, teh A-202, is also a main road, however the road narrows down considerably from the start.

The first seven km are pretty straight, until, past Campillo de Aragón, we start on a bendier stretch over an arid countryside that takes us to the La Tranquera water reserve, and the tow of Nuérvalos, which we reach soon after we see a turnoff for the Stone Monastery, another interesting place to visit.

Once past the Tranquera water reserve, we continue zigzagging for a further eight km and reach a straight stretch that takes us to Calatayud, after passing by Muñébrega.

We havenow covered 160 km, and suggest making a stop here, in this historical city, to stretch our legs and top up with petrol, but bearing in mind that we are still far from our final destination.

section21

Calatayud - N-122 (85 km)

We leave Calatayud and hit the longest stretch of our route, on the N-234, that will takes us near the city of Soria on this fast road that heads north-east.

It is a very straight road that will let us cover the next eighty-four km in a bit over an hour, until, at the 245th kilometric point of our route, we join the N-122 towards Zaragoza and Pamplona and, a few metres on, we turn left again at a Stop sign, towards Soria and all other directions.

section22

N-122 - Garray (8 km)

We don't go into Soria, due to our time restricitions, bt border it along its north-east side and taking Exit 14 towards Logroño. We stay on this road, the N-111, for four km until we reach Garray, where we can stop to have lunch.

section23

Garray - LR-115 (53 km)

After having a traditional Soria meal, we leave Garray, town from which we can access the famous remains of Numancia, which are only 800 metres away, at the top of the Cerro de la Muela, which can be reached by bike. Garray also has an airfield, by the way.

We start off on a straight stretch of eight km, on the so-called Dinosaur Route, that takes us past the towns of Buitrago, La Rubia and Ausejo de la Sierra, where we start driving uphill over wide curves towards the mountain pass of Oncala, 1452m above sea level.

The descent, which is quite straight, barring a few tight turns, takes us past the towns of Villar del Río and Yanguas, where a series of zigzagging bends let us enjoy this road that is decorated with real-scale replicas of dinosaurs , until, when we have been driving for 304 km, we leave Castilla and enter into La Rioja, another province.

 

section24

LR-115 - Arnedo (28 km)

The first curves on this Riojan road take us to Enciso, where we pair up with the Cidacos river, that will stay on our right until we reach Arnedo, having passed through Arnedillo first. If you have the time, you can stop here in Arnedillo to enjoy its natural spa, with a natural spring that brings the water up from the depths at a temperature of 52º Celcius.

Arnedo is 14 km after Arnedillo, and we change roads here towards Calahorra, on the LR-123.

section25

Arnedo - LR-134 (3 km)

We start on this short stretch driving uphill beside Arnedo's industrial estate, for two km, after which we change roads towards Calahorra.

section26

LR-134 - San Adrián (16 km)

After joining the LR-134 in the outskirts of Arnedo, we stay on this straight road until we reach the milenary city of Calahorra. We drive through the city centre, staying on the same road until, having passed milestone 16, we reach San Adrián, which marks the entrance into the province of Navarra.

section27

San Adrián - Carcar (8 km)

Only 70 km away from the capital of Navarra, we skirt San Adrián and head for Carcar, which we will reach after driving for eight km on the NA-134, a typical road of the Navarrese Ribera, which all have in common that they have long, straight stretches with barely any curves.

section28

Carcar - Lerín (11 km)

We leave Carcar behind as we drive on its left side and join the N-122 towards Lerín, as we take in the typical landscape of the area, which mixes grain fields with some vineyards that give away the prescence of wineries in this area, which produce the lovely Caldo Navarro, or Navarrese "Soup", a reference to the wine itself.

At the 372nd kilometric point of our route, we leave the NA-122 at Lerín, where there are two options: turn right before the village, or turn right after the village, but turn right you must. You will see some misterious excavations of past remains, of which there are various theories, all yet to be proven.

section29

Lerín - Puente la Reina (30 km)

We now head for Puente la Reina on the NA-601, a trunk road, just as the other ones that brought us here were.

Once past Larraga, we turn right to drive on the NA-132 and, after only one km, we turn left after crossing over the Arga river, river which will be our companion until the end of this stretch.

Just before reaching Mendigorría, a detour announces the ruins of Andelos, a Roman town which is only a few km away.

Once in Mendigorría we turn left and, after a short, bendy downhill drive and a four km straight stretch, we reach Puente la Reina, a pretty town on the Way of St. James.

section30

Puente la Reina - PAMPLONA (24 km)

Having covered 400 km, we leave Puente la Reina and join the A-12, where, stepping on it a bit, we reach Pamplona, our final destination, by passing through Cizur Mayor, a town that has been incorporated into the capital of Navarra.