Albanchez - Santuario de la Virgen (dando un rodeo)

This is not the only route to reach the Sanctuary of the Virgin from Albanchez, nor the shortest, fastest, or probably the most logical, but the day was for exploring several climbs I hadn’t known yet in the area.

It leaves Albanchez via the rambla del Río los Molinos and climbs towards the Cobdar quarry, circling it on its north side.

From there, the idea was to descend an old path through the quarry that I once climbed, but since it was Monday and they were working there, I descended directly on the road.

It climbs along a ravine before reaching Cobdar and then along an almost abandoned path (with a chain), then some switchbacks and steep ramps up to the road leading to the pass (also blocked by a chain at the top).

From there, the route descends to the Rambla Pauli (careful, chain at the start of the descent) and then climbs the ravine and after that steep ramps up to the trail that finally leads to the same junction of the final climb to the Sanctuary.

The return from the sanctuary was not planned via the road, but lunchtime was approaching and I had the rest of the route more or less planned and didn’t want to spoil the details for my club mates when they come to test the ride.

The route to the Sanctuary is tough but with unique landscapes. If anyone downloads it and follows it, please leave a comment with your thoughts.