Spain · Teruel (Maestrazgo) · Premium route guide
The Silent Route - A-1702, Teruel
66 kilometres of signposted quiet through the Teruel Maestrazgo, a road built to be ridden slowly and stopped at often. Canyons, vulture cliffs and interpretive viewpoints, with the full route on the map, a GPX for your GPS, and the motorcycle-friendly stays other riders have vetted along the way.
- Distance
- 66 km
- Peak elevation
- 1,617 m
- Elevation gain
- 1,399 m
- Best months
- Mar-Nov
The route
La Ruta del Silencio, signed in English as The Silent Route, is the A-1702 across the Teruel highlands between the Andorra-Sierra de Arcos and Maestrazgo comarcas. It starts in the west at Venta la Pintada on the N-211 by Gargallo and runs east through Ejulve, Villarluengo and Cañada de Benatanduz to the Cuarto Pelado pass above Cantavieja.
Pins are motorcycle-friendly stays other riders have vetted, in and around Cantavieja, Villarluengo and the villages either side of the road.
1 verified stay within 30 km of the route. Click a stay pin to see details. Know one that should be here?
Works with Garmin, TomTom, BMW Navigator, Calimoto, Kurviger, komoot, MyRouteApp. Import as a track to ride the exact line. Road data from OpenStreetMap (ODbL); elevation from SRTM.
Track vs. route, how to load this into your GPS
What you are downloading is a GPX track, a dense, road-snapped breadcrumb of the exact line, with elevation on every point. It is not a GPX route (a short list of turn waypoints your device re-plans between). Tracks preserve our road choice; routes let the device pick its own way and can send you down a boring motorway shortcut.
How to use it on your navigator:
- BMW Navigator / Garmin Zumo / zumo XT: import as a track, then Convert to Route (or Trip Planner, new trip from track) if you want turn by turn prompts. Keep Recalculation off so it stays on our line.
- TomTom Rider: import the GPX in MyDrive, it loads as a track / itinerary. Enable Follow the exact route so it does not re-plan.
- Calimoto: open the GPX and choose Import as tour, Calimoto follows the track line.
- Kurviger / komoot / MyRouteApp: open the GPX and pick Import as track to keep the road choice. Only choose Import as route if you want the app to re-plan for your bike profile.
- Google Maps / Apple Maps: these do not read GPX. Use the map on this page for turn cues, or import the file into a GPX capable app first.
Rule of thumb: if your device asks "track or route?", pick track to ride our exact line, pick route only if you want the device to re-plan.
Elevation profile
From ~829 m at the base to 1,617 m at the top, 1,399 m of total climbing across the route.
The road is one continuous 66 km ribbon with no junction worth worrying about. Out of Gargallo it climbs onto open moorland, drops into pine forest at Ejulve, then spends the middle third carving along the rim of the Guadalope canyons, past the Organos de Montoro viewpoint at kilometre 28 with its panoramic table and interpretive panels.
After Cañada de Benatanduz the character changes again: bare highland, stone walls, and the climb to Cuarto Pelado, the signed eastern end of the route, before the last few kilometres drop you into Cantavieja on its ridge. Total ascent across the run is about 1,400 m with a high point just over 1,600 m.
The road, honestly
This is not a pass-bagging road and it will disappoint anyone who turns up wanting hairpin theatre. The surface is good but narrow in places, the corners are medium-speed and constant, and the reward is the emptiness. On a weekday you can ride 20 km without meeting a car. The comarca deliberately branded it around slow riding and installed viewpoints rather than overtaking lanes, and it works: you end up stopping four or five times in 66 km.
Watch for the animals. Griffon vultures use the canyon thermals and cross low over the tarmac, ibex come down to the verges early and late, and there is free-roaming livestock on the open sections between Cañada de Benatanduz and Cuarto Pelado. Gravel washes onto the road after storms on the canyon stretch.
When to go, weather and fuel
March to November. Spring and autumn are the sweet spot: soft light, mild temperatures and empty villages. Summer is rideable but the plateau bakes at midday, and in winter the altitude brings freezing fog and ice, especially in the shaded canyon sections and on the Cuarto Pelado climb.
Fuel matters here. Fill up before you start, either off the N-211 at the western end or in Cantavieja at the eastern end. There is no reliable fuel on the A-1702 itself, and the villages along it are small enough that the only bar may be shut in the afternoon. Carry water and do not count on mobile coverage in the canyons.
Where to base yourself
Cantavieja is the natural base: a walled medieval town on a ridge at the eastern end, with restaurants, fuel and enough rooms that you can leave the bike in sight. Villarluengo, halfway along, is the quieter option and puts you inside the canyon scenery at sunrise.
If a single 66 km run feels short, and it will, ride our Maestrazgo Silence Loop instead: it takes in the whole A-1702 and turns the day into a 212 km circuit from Cantavieja.
What to see along the way
- Venta la Pintada (Gargallo) - Signed western start on the N-211. Last easy fuel and coffee before the quiet begins.
- Ejulve - Small village where the panoramic section really starts. Bar, bakery and a shaded square to park up in.
- Skyline Alto Maestrazgo viewpoint - The most photographed stop on the route, marked by the ibex sculpture, with a wide view over the Maestrazgo ridgelines.
- Villarluengo - Village hanging over the valley at roughly the midpoint. Best place on the route for a proper lunch.
- Organos de Montoro viewpoint (PK 28.2, 948 m) - Official roadside mirador with a panoramic table facing the vertical rock organ pipes and the Guadalope narrows.
- El Caiman rest area (PK 50) - Full-size replica of the old Cantavieja to Alcorisa bus. Odd, charming and the standard group photo stop.
- Cañada de Benatanduz - Tiny stone village at altitude marking the start of the final highland section.
- Cuarto Pelado - The signed eastern end of the route, on the pass above Cantavieja.
Rent a bike
Rent a motorcycle or scooter for The Silent Route - A-1702, Teruel
Flying in? Pick up a bike near the start of the route. We've pre-filled the pick-up city with Cantavieja / Villarluengo - change it if you're basing elsewhere.
Rentals powered by BikesBooking. StayToRide may earn a small commission - no extra cost to you.
Verified stays within 30 km
Automatically selected by proximity to the traced route, no editorial cherry-picking. Sorted by how close they are to the road.
Ridden this road and stayed somewhere great?
This whole directory grows one rider recommendation at a time. Add a stay and it will appear on this guide automatically if it is within 30 km of the route.
Suggest a stay