La Rioja - the wine area! For the best wine in Spain, travelers head to La Rioja. This 6-night tour features premium accommodations and excursions to a variety of wine cellars that produce Riojan wine, from traditional bodegas (wineries) on medieval farms to wineries employing the latest technology for first-class wine. Lodging is very unique, from historical monasteries converted to modern lodging to modern deluxe inns. The wine production of Rioja is highly developed but yet there are so many well preserved medieval villages to visit that a trip here is both a descent into antiquity and an appreciation of modern advances.
Rioja is divided into 3 sub-zones: Rioja Alta, Alavesa, and Baja. The most famous bodegas are in the first two and we take you there. Art and history are well represented as well in the Human Heritage monastery complex of Suso y Yuso in San Millan de la Cogolla (10th C) where Spanish language - Castellano- was born.
Itinerary
Day 1 | Arrival in Logrono
Arrival in the city of Logrono. From Madrid or Barcelona trains are possible direct or via Zaragoza. Flights from Madrid are also available to arrive in an hour for about the same price as the train. Buses also possible. From Logrono, transfer to Laguardia by taxi - about 15 km. Your hotel is a very nice 4 star hotel with pool and restaurant, as well as wine cellar. Take some time to visit the very charming medieval old village of Laguardia (13th C) - a beautiful town with spectacular mountain backdrop. Your hotel is also located just next to the wine cultural center, an interactive site with a great deal of information about this very special wine including entrance and wine tasting. Orientation, dinner and night at the hotel. (D)
Day 2 | Laguardia to Abalos - 34 km
Bike delivery at 9:00 am, and then you are off to explore the region. The ride is a rolling one and you will have some small hills in the first few kilometers. You can visit the 4000 year Sorcerer's Hut dolmen, then you will pass the new Frank Gehry design under construction and can visit the small church in Samaniego before arriving in your 18th century charming hotel. Dinner included. (B,D)
Day 3 | Loop ride to wine country - 60 km
Today’s riding uses Ábalos as a base for discovering the Rioja Alavesa. Almost all of this ride takes place on small country roads, giving the cyclist a chance to enjoy a quiet ride through vineyards, with the Ebro and mountains as constant companions. On the way, you can enjoy a tour of the historic Rememlluri winery (located in a fifteenth-century Hieronymite monastery) and see Haro, the unofficial capital of the wine region, before riding back to Ábalos. (B,D)
Day 4 | Abalos to Santo Domingo de la Calzada - 56 km
Today we move from the Basque Country to the plains of the Camino de Santiago, passing through some rolling hillside along the way. The weather changes slightly – you may notice that it’s a bit cooler away from the Sierra Cantabria, and the land becomes a deeper terracotta color the further south we go. After passing over the Ebro, the land rises into a plateau – vineyards share land with wheat fields – and we head towards the Sierra de la Demanda, passing through charming hamlets on our way to Santo Domingo de la Calzada. (B)
Day 5 | Santo Domingo and back - 60 km
Today we leave the highways and Caminos behind to explore the richness of the Oja Valley. Our route follows the Via Verde del Rio Oja, a rail trail named after the river that gives the region its name, and which will be your constant companion on this day's trip. Unlike many smaller railways started throughout Spain in the late 19th century, this one managed to stay profitable, and wasn't dismantled during or after the Civil War; instead, it was one the last narrow-gauge railways to fall prey to the automobile, closing in 1964. (B,D)
Day 6 | Ride from Santo Domingo to San Millan de Cogolla - 42 km
This final day of riding connects Santo Domingo de la Calzada to the hamlet of San Millán de la Cogolla, home of the Yuso and Suso monasteries, where some of the most historic documents in the Spanish language are kept. The first half of the trip follows the Camino de Santiago (in reverse), pass through the town of Nájera (the resting place of several of the monarchs of the former kings of Navarre), and follow the Najerilla River to San Millán. This day is purposely a bit shorter, allowing you to reach San Millán before lunch so that you can visit the Monastery of Yuso and its remarkable library which holds, among other literary treasures, hundreds of medieval hymnals and the first written grammar of the Spanish language. (B)
Day 7 | Departure or optional stay
You can reach Logrono by taxi (about 30 euros), or extend your stay if you wish.
Details
Duration: 7 days / 6 nights; supplemental nights in Madrid or other destinations possible.
Dates: Any date On request from April through October
Accommodation: [Virtual Hotel Tour] 6 nights in top quality, deluxe 3 and 4 star hotels. Hotels: Villa de Laguardia, Villa de Abelos, Paradores Hotel of Santo Domingo, Hotel Monasterio del Yuso.
Bike 165 euros: [Click for image] 24 speed Nishiki hybrids with Deore group, front suspension with block system, seat post suspension, stem and handle bar adjustable, rack, panniers or handle bar bag, bell, Truvativ crank, 24 speed. Ladies and men frames. See link for details.
Trip includes: 6 nights deluxe lodging, breakfast daily, dinners as shown, luggage transfers, local emergency support, orientation and bike fitting, riding routes with maps and cue sheets, suggestions for visitation and dining, day 1 wine museum visit and tasting. Additional services and stays can be arranged separately.
|
