Teruel, Green Railroad / Timo Rokitta
Your new gravel route is in Spain! We have created a mixed route on tracks and secondary roads for you to enjoy the Camino del Cid route on your gravel bike: 1,500km across inland Spain to the Mediterranean, following the steps of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, El Cid Campeador, a famous medieval knight of the 11th century.
Owing to its length and the places it goes through, it is one of the most ambitious routes in Spain: a challenge to get to know the country in a different way. By pedalling your gravel bike!
WARNING: unlike the mountain bike route, the gravel route isn't signposted. To follow it, you need to download the gravel track in your navigator device or follow the route with our travel app. At the end of 2024 we will publish the digital guides for the gravel route.
Types of surfaces you’ll find
Gravel routes follow different kinds of surfaces:
- Asphalt: the sections along roads; generally secondary roads with little traffic although when there is no alternative they follows sections of main roads, town streets (when going through a village or town), cycle lanes, and tarmacked rural roads and tracks.
- Untarmacked rural roads and tracks: the surfaces are usually good although they may sometimes include stony sections.
- Natural tracks and Green Ways: untarmacked tracks belonging to those two categories.
- Trails: narrow untarmacked routes, generally narrower than two metres and with an irregular surface.
Montuenga de Soria, Soria / Timo Rokitta
Gravel routes and tracks in the Camino del Cid
The Camino del Cid route includes several possibilities for gravel bikes:
The Exile Gravel Route
The section generally follows the first days of El Cid’s exile, as described in the Cantar poem, the main guidebook for the Camino del Cid route. On this route you will see a large part of the essence of Castile, one of the most important kingdoms of Spain in the Middle Ages.
You’ll cross valleys, moors and mountains, and you’ll find small quiet villages full of heritage. Burgos cathedral, the monasteries of San Pedro de Cardeña and Silos, and the mythical land of the River Douro with the impressive Islamic fortress of Gormaz are some of the landmarks on this route.
- Route: from Vivar del Cid (Burgos) to Atienza (Guadalajara).
- Provinces it goes through: Burgos, Soria and Guadalajara.
- Length: 291km.
- Surfaces: Tarmac (60%), untarmacked tracks and trails (37%), natural tracks (3%).
The Borderlands Gravel Route
Follow El Cid and his men through the borderlands of 11th and 12th century Islamic territories. This route of greatly contrasting landscapes has three main sections: Atienza, Medinaceli and Calatayud: they were highly militarised and responsible for defending the border and ensuring supplies for the Andalusian troops, who launched their attacks from there on the areas colonised by the Christians.
It recreates El Cid’s troubles and battles in an inland and rural Spain with very attractive natural areas, such as the River Dulce Canyon.
- Route: from Atienza (Guadalajara) a Calatayud (Zaragoza).
- Provinces it goes through: Guadalajara, Soria y Zaragoza.
- Length: 270km.
- Surfaces: Tarmac (48%), untarmacked tracks and trails (50%), natural tracks (2%).
The Three Taifas Gravel Route
Cycle through the lands of the Islamic taifas or principalities of Zaragoza, Toledo and Albarracín, from Calatayud (is one of the most important Islamic walled towns in Spain) to Cella (Teruel), the place chosen by the author of the Poem as the place where El Cid waited for all those who wanted to go with him on his conquest of Valencia.
Three hundred intense kilometres of history, art and, in the region of the Upper Tagus, of wild nature.
- Route: from Calatayud (Zaragoza) to Cella (Teruel).
- Provinces it goes through: Zaragoza, Guadalajara, Teruel.
- Length: 313 km.
- Surfaces: Tarmac (51%), untarmacked tracks and trails (47%), natural tracks and Green Ways (2%).
The Conquest of Valencia Gravel Route
A route of great contrasts, from the highlands of Teruel (capital of the Aragonese Mudejar style and a World Heritage Site) and the rugged geography of Castellón, to the Mediterranean coast. Mountains, escarpments, rivers and ravines, large forests, orchards, marshes and warm beaches. A complete route that ends in Valencia, the grand reward of El Cid and, possibly, also that of travellers on Camino del Cid route in the 21st century. Set out on the conquest of the city that El Cid dreamed of!
WARNING: the trail between Montán and Caudiel is in poor condition, we recommend cycling with caution on road CV195 (14 km).
- Route: from Cella (Teruel) to Valencia.
- Provinces it goes through: Teruel, Castellón y Valencia.
- Length: 239 km.
- Surfaces: Tarmac (47%), untarmacked tracks and trails (23%), Green Ways (29%), natural tracks (1%).
Defending the South Gravel Route
Follow the line of castles oriented towards the south and discover the lands in which El Cid fought tooth and nail, attacking or defending himself from the raids of the Almoravids. Enter the interior of the provinces of Valencia and Alicante. You’ll be surprised by their villages and the wealth of their natural diversity, from the great orchards of Valencia to the palm tree forest in Elche (a World Heritage Site) and the Mariola Mountains. This route ends in what has come to symbolise the southern extreme of El Cid’s domains: the monumental town of Orihuela.
- Route: from Valencia to Orihuela (Valencia).
- Provinces it goes through: Valencia y Alicante.
- Length: 260 km.
- Surfaces: Tarmac (76%), untarmacked tracks and trails (18%), Green Ways (3%), natural tracks (3%). The high percentage of tarmac on this route compared with the others is because most of the rural tracks have been tarmacked.
The Álvar Fáñez Gravel Route
This route goes through peaceful valleys and commemorates the famous raid or surprise attack of Álvar Fáñez. According to the Poem, whilst El Cid was laying siege to Castejón, his loyal vassal, accompanied by two hundred knights, plundered the banks of the River Henares, passing through Hita and Guadalajara as far as the gates of Alcalá de Henares.
- Route: from Villaseca de Henares (Guadalajara) to Guadalajara.
- Provinces it goes through: Guadalajara.
- Length: 70 km.
- Surfaces: Tarmac (42%), untarmacked tracks and trails (57%), natural tracks (1%).
Gallocanta Circular Gravel Route
A circular route that connects the Jiloca valley with Gallocanta Lagoon, the place where El Cid set up a camp to dominate the surrounding territories. Gallocanta Lagoon is one of Western Europe’s largest saltwater lagoons and boasts a wealth of flora and fauna. Each winter this ecosystem is visited by thousands of cranes and other migratory birds who stop here on their long flight from northern Europe to Africa. Together with the large numbers of other water birds, steppe birds and birds of prey (more than two hundred species) that live here, they form a truly spectacular sight, turning Gallocanta into one of Europe’s ornithological paradises.
- Route: circular, Daroca-Daroca.
- Provinces it goes through: Zaragoza y Teruel.
- Length: 54 km.
- Surfaces: Tarmac (61%), untarmacked tracks and trails (39%).
Other routes on the Way of El Cid that you can enjoy on your gravel bike
If you like cycling along secondary roads and trying new challenges, as well as the previous gravel bike routes, we recommend these three circular routes for road cycling tourism:
- Montalbán Circular Route: 146km through the Teruel mining region, centred on Montalbán.
- Maestrazgo Circular Route: 244 km. El Maestrazgo is one of the most spectacular and challenging areas for cycle tourists on the Way of El Cid.
- Morella Circular Route: 105km. A route with a large helping of history, nature and art in a little over 100km. It is one of the most spectacular and challenging areas for cycling tourism on the Way of El Cid, You’ll discover fascinating towns, such as Morella.
Get in touch with us by email and tell us all about your experience and opinion of the Way of El Cid gravel routes.