Guájares Gravel
- This loop takes no prisoners. With some of the steepest gradients that a bike can manage, this loop is unforgiving, but spectacular.
Probably the best gravel riding that you will ever do, this loop brings you deep into the mountains, where it is rare to see any signs of life for hours. If you do this loop with the correct preparation, it is one of the most scenic and immersive rides that you can do in the area.
The preparation that I am referring to includes a lot of different aspects… This ride can only be done on a gravel bike or a mountain bike, it is absolutely not recommended to do this ride on road bike even though some sections of the loop are on the road. Food and water: the only two options to get food on this ride will be Guájar Faragüit and Guájar Alto. We suggest stopping for food in Guàjar Alto at kilometre 16.5 as you won’t see food or water on the loop once you leave town until you are back there again. A very small out and back extension to the café in Guájar Alto has been added to the Strava route. It is also a good idea to make sure that you have plenty of food on this ride as the climbing is relentless and hunger can seem to get ahead of you before you get ahead of it that little bit easier when your whole body is working to get up this 11km gravel climb where gradients hit almost 21% at times… Don’t let this put you off though.
Once you get out of town and get onto said climb, the views start to take your breath away more and more as you climb and each corner brings a something new, from carton like snowy mountain tops, to the Mediterranean, it’s quite a unique experience. Once you summit at 1,100m, you will begin an extremely tight and technical descent back into Guájar Alto which comes with just as much Adrenaline as you would expect. Once you are back in town, we are usually pretty glad to be able to finish the ride on the road for a bit of restbite as we descend the whole way back to Velez de Benaudalla.