The Wild Road to Mina de Riosol in northern Spain
Spain, europe
2.8 km
1,680 m
hard
Year-round
Okay, picture this: you're in northern Spain, high up in the Cordillera Cantábrica mountains, exploring the wild Cabañas Valley. You're headed to an abandoned mercury mine called Mina de Riosol (or Mina Carmina, if you're feeling fancy).
The road? Well, it's strictly off-road. Forget pavement; you'll need a 4x4 to tackle this baby. This mine, tucked away in the Riosol valley near Buecicardiel, operated for less than a decade, and the road is still there waiting to be discovered.
You can usually get there year-round, but winter can throw a wrench in the works with snow and ice. Starting from the CL-635 paved road, it's only 2.8 km (a little over a mile and half), but it packs a punch. Get ready for some seriously steep climbs, with gradients hitting up to 14% in spots! You'll gain 259 meters in elevation, making for an average gradient of over 9%. The views though? Totally worth it.
Road Details
- Country
- Spain
- Continent
- europe
- Length
- 2.8 km
- Max Elevation
- 1,680 m
- Difficulty
- hard
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