Cycling in Andalucia : Seville to Valencia, November 2023

Without enough to run this fabulous tour of ours this year we were approached by two intrepid adventurers who offered to ride it for us so we could give you another first hand account of what it's like to ride in this beautiful part of the world ...

Over to Adam :)

Day 1

We hit out early; leaving behind the buzz of Seville and with the sun on our back the hills started to increase from 'barely noticeable and rolling' to ‘slightly more significant’ taking us into the town of Ronda. Ronda is a remarkable old city known to be one of Spain’s most ancient and is set atop a deep gorge with the incredible Punta Nuevo bridge as the crossing between the new and old towns. A quick photo of the bridge and a cold drink and we were back on our way again.

Through the latter half of the day we were treated to views of a huge reservoir, these are littered across the route that we would follow for the next few days.

 We finished the day in the town of Antequerra at the Parador hotel which gives beautiful views over the valley below.

Day 2

No two days are the same on this route and the tight mountain roads gave way to big open landscapes on the route to Granada.

The endless olive trees were a beautiful sight and riding the roads and countryside here is most tranquil. A day of smooth roads and relatively short 4 - 8 km gentle climbs, a truly spoiling day in the saddle.

The end of the day takes you into ancient Granada with its Islamic history and enormous Moorish Alhambra. We highly recommend some North African food as a change to traditional Spanish cuisine here.

Day 3

Starts with a punch! A stunning 15km climb out of Granada, you are riding in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains here where many pro cycling teams base their summer altitude camps.

The foothills are much greener than the preceding terrain and there are some stunning views as you climb. The reservoir at Rio Ferde meets you at the base of the first descent and was the most jaw dropping of resevoirs we saw en route. 

The afternoon takes you into the Gorafe desert; home to the much feared Badlands Ultra offroad race. We stuck to the roads and the afternoon sees another long gradual 15 km climb to a part of the route with no obvious cycle route around the motorway, we had a car with us so caught a lift 10 km up the motorway to the next junction before descending down and over a small final climb into the charming town of Baza. The end of an another unreal day in southern Spain.

(In our tour we shuttle you this little section famously named (well famous in our office anyway) 'The Baza Problem')

Day 4

Today would take us from Baza to Lorca, on paper the most relaxed day in terms of climbing. The terrain remains arid with panoramic views and roads stretching to the horizon.

The area around Baza is synonymous with troglodytic houses, I can well understand how underground would be the best place to be during the summer heat.

After descending from the start the whole morning is spent winding your way gently up from 700 - 1,250 m but once you reach the top it is a glorious long descent down to close in Lorca.

The Castle at Velaz Blanco makes for a beautiful photo stop.

There is one final punch up to where we stayed at the Parador in Lorca, a fun but spicy way to end the day, now WHERE is that cold cervesa??

Day 5

On the menu today we had two long climbs from Lorca to Murcia. The Collado Bermejo and its lead up would be our morning project and the Alto del Berro would take us over into the Murcian valley.

The Collado Bermejo is an absolute peach, very quiet with switchback after switchback all the way to the stunning view at the top. Quite possibly the climb of the trip.

The descent from the top is equally glorious, swooping corners, perfect road surface and goes on for almost 20 km, one to savour!

Murcia is a huge and imposing city but the cycle path along the river takes you gently to the centre of the city to end the day.

Day 6

With Murcia being the size it is it does take a while to extricate oneself from, but once you do you are back on quiet roads enjoying big open skies and unending views of a dry and beautiful landscape.

The main climb of the day is the Xorret de Catí and averages 5% but don’t let that fool you, it includes some downhill and flat sections so the uphill parts are quite punchy!

Once you have descended from the heights of the Catí theres only one smooth and gentle climb up and over to the charming little town of Alcoi.

Day 7

It’s a downhill start to the day from Alcoi which is always a pleasure and downhill is the theme of the day as we make our way to the Med and our finish in Valencia.

You know when you're getting further north and closer to the end when the almond and olive trees make way to an explosion of citrus trees.

The final significant climb of the trip is La Drova which was packed with cyclists the day we rode, a change from having the roads to ourselves the rest of the week. From there it's downhill and all of a sudden you're face to face with the Mediterranean.

A final charge along the pan flat of the coast brings you into the hustle and bustle of beautiful Valencia. What a journey its been, too many highlights to list but to pick a top 5:

1.     The roads – Perfectly smooth and with plenty of interesting climbs

2.    The Spanish – Always relaxed, kind and friendly.

3.    The food – Who doesn’t love a mid ride bocadillo or omelette and salad?

4.    The hotels – Always happy to accommodate cyclists and good hearty breakfasts.

5.     Last of all the climate! – We went in November and were treated to 27 degrees and clear skies every day, cant say fairer than that!

Thanks for a great account Adam. Glad you enjoyed cycling our route.

If you would like to find out more about this great trip and would like to join us in October 2025 please get in touch with Fiona at
Fiona@wildatlanticcycling.com or WhatsApp me on 00 44 7944 691 297

Read more about our 10 day tour here