North to south through Spain - Ruta de la Plata - 'Historic road'

ROAD-08-San Pedro Rozados-Zamora: once again more endless plains. If it were me I'd take a detour to ride around the Sierra de Francia, which, far form being anywhere near France, is the last bit of the Sistema Central , which is the huge series of mountain ranges that runs from the Ebro valley in the distance east westwards where north of Madrid it's the Guadarrama ranges, Sueraa de greed and now here before it head over to Portugal. You could happily spend a few days just exploring this area alone - no need to ask me hw I know this ... :)
 
Ruta de la Plata

I have just found this thread and having travelled the route (loosely) this year I have some general comments. I did not do it all, just the section from Zamora to Merida, about 200 miles. I avoided some of the towns and cities I have visited previously so deviated as necessary. The road generally follows the dual carriageway so has little traffic. In my opinion, it is not enjoyable from a motorcycling point of view. Not many curves and relatively flat. If you just want to head north south on twisty roads I would travel to the east from perhaps Avila south, or to the west in Portugal. If you are interested in culture, the road is excellent.
Zamora is a very interesting city with lots of historic buildings, some walls, fortress etc. Salamanca is fabulous, famous for its architecture and golden stone buildings. It has a beautiful main square, every style of building but famous for its Plateresque and Churrigueresque style buildings, its university and is a world heritage site.
I have yet to stay in Placencia, but Caceres and Merida are both terrific places to visit (both are world heritage sites, so thats 3 in 170 miles), particularly Merida if you are interested in Roman stuff. There is lots to see (Theatre, amphitheatre, aqueducts, bridge, temple, circus) and really needs two days to do it justice. Off route to the east of Caceres is Trujillo an amazing small town and worth a visit (both of these towns benefited from wealthy Conquistadors returning from the new world). 40 miles south of Merida and just west of the route is Zafra, a very nice small town, it has a Parador, two nice squares and interesting buildings.

Hopefully someone soon will follow the route with some accuracy and give Richard some detailed feedback. Thanks Richard (and Simon) for your time.
 
This route , while enjoying a romantic name lacks substance and should be removed as sticky on this sub forum , it’s a distraction from so many interesting and driver friendly routes in the region
 
Another suggestion for anyone who's interested.

Ponferrada is a nice town to stop in. It has a Knight's Templar castle which can be visited. Presently they are renovating the oldest part of the castle. The admission fee is €6. It's not Hever Castle, for sure, but it's a good way to stretch the legs. Although we usually sample local delicacies in traditional restaurants, one of our number has a Chinese gf and whilst walking around the castle working up an apetite, he kept mentioning the dishes she knocked up for him..... so naturally..... Good quality/value very near the castle, can't remember the name but a google search will tell you. I think we paid €10 ea for a bellyfull of food and beers.

I digress.....

There is a really great road off the beaten track (not offorad) up into the mountains. It's a gentle ride initially (by necessity) becoming a swifter road and finally leading to a really peg down, smooth, wide road with more corners than you can shake a stick at.

LE CV 192/21, LE126, LE125, ZA 125

The route takes you from Ponferrada to Puebla de Sanabria.
 

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We did this exact route a few weeks ago and can confirm it is a cracker. 2 - up plus luggage and managed to scrape the NS pannier on one bend. Scared the shit out of the wife on the back!
 
Suggested Route to the East

This route is to the east of the Ruta de la Plata. It is a more interesting road for motorcycling but less so if your interested in history and culture. Having said that, Avila is a fab place, fully surrounded by medieval walls, Guadalupe is a small town, but has a fabulous monastery and terrific old streets and buildings. The surrounding roads are very twisty and mountainous. Just south of Avila the Sierra de Gredos mountain range is worth exploring if you have the time. Many great roads and little traffic. Cordoba is a fantastic historic city and worth at least two days. Priego de Cordoba further south is also a spectacularly sited small town and worth an overnight stay. If time is an issue, Route de la Plata is quicker and it's easy to hop on and off the dual carriageway to make good time.
 

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I couldn’t agree more as I’ve just run round there this very day. It was so enjoyable that I didn’t stop for lunch until 4.15 before settling for the night in Caceres. In fact weather to the east being more inclement I’m going back that way on Sunday for a few days on the Portugal side
 
Great thread and much work here.
I walked this route South to North (Seville to Santiago) but did not go via Leon. Nothing against Leon , have stayed previously beautiful Parador.
There is a variation that goes close to Portuguese border ( via Sanabres through Ourense).
The Spanish Post Office have a website with good detail if anyone interested. www.elcaminoconcorreos.com/es
 
Great thread and much work here.
I walked this route South to North (Seville to Santiago) but did not go via Leon. Nothing against Leon , have stayed previously beautiful Parador.
There is a variation that goes close to Portuguese border ( via Sanabres through Ourense).
The Spanish Post Office have a website with good detail if anyone interested. www.elcaminoconcorreos.com/es

That's a long way to walk. Still, you're not the only person with a KTM. :D
 


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