Trevélez Loop
- This is not one for the faint-hearted. This amazing loop to Spain’s highest village is one for more advanced riders.
This 105km anti-clockwise loop works its way up to one of the highest villages in Spain, Trevélez. After leaving Vélez, you begin climbing immediately towards Órgiva and continue to the idyllic town of Torvizcón and our first recommended café stop at Bar La Parada which is the first building on the left as you enter the town over the bridge. Although the town is only 29km, it is right before the beginning of the Mines Climb and it’s a good idea to refuel and refill your bottles before getting into the 13km climb. If you don’t feel the need to stop at the café, there is a water fountain across the road to refill bottles.
Although you have already been climbing the whole way from Vélez, after a brief and very technical drop down into the valley after Torvizcón, the Mines climb gets going. The climb consists of some fairly severe gradients with a well-deserved break in the climb about two thirds of the way up. The town of Trevélez comes 53km into the climb and it offers the perfect opportunity for some lunch. Trevélez is a town with a population of around 850 people, but can become quite busy with tourists on the weekends which at least means that there are plenty of good restaurants to cater for those passing through the town centre. Trevélez is known as the Ham Capital of Spain, so make sure to sample some on the stop. There is also a running fountain of fresh mountain water right in the centre of town.
After a few more kilometres of climbing out of Trevélez, the second half of the ride begins, the downhill half. On a clear day, the stretch between Trevélez and Órgiva is one of the most enjoyable and scenic roads in the Sierra Nevada.