Detour #76: Puerto de Velefique, Spain
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You don’t have to leave Europe for a tortuous, undulating desert drive. Southern Spain’s barren beauty is the setting of the Puerto de Velefique, a sensational mountain road with a bewildering array of corners, climbing through the parched landscape.
Described by locals as the Spanish Stelvio Pass this a hairpin-riddled ride that climbs to a heady 1,820m. Some 20 switchbacks join to make the ascent from Camino de Bacares a Tahal to the village of Velefique.
The AL-3102 is beautifully smooth and generally lightly-trafficked so there’s plenty of fun to be had powering through the twisties for its 16-mile length.
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Most of the year it’s extremely hot, with heat haze shimmering off the tarmac, but in the winter it has been known to snow, leaving the road unpassable.
Peer through the haze and you’ll find glorious views across the nearby vineyards and the dry desert plain of Tabernas. As with many such climbs, the road is popular with cyclists who tend to attack the slopes in the cooler hours, so if you’ve got the luxury of air conditioning then an early afternoon run, with the sun high in the sky, should find the road at its least busy.
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