Calar Alto (from Tabernas)
Climb · Granada
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Calar Alto (from Tabernas) is a 38.8 km cycling climb averaging 4.5% (+1828 m), rising from 401 m to 2154 m in Granada.
38.8 km · +1828 m · 4.5% avg · ~12.4% max · 401 → 2154 m · 16 hairpins
Stats computed from OpenStreetMap and satellite elevation data — approximate.
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Gradient by colour: ● <3% ● 3–6% ● 6–9% ● 9%+
Where it bites
Steepest 500 m: 12.7% (km 28.9–29.3).
| km | to | avg |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 410 m | 1.1% |
| 2 | 421 m | 1.0% |
| 3 | 466 m | 4.3% |
| 4 | 494 m | 3.1% |
| 5 | 527 m | 3.3% |
| 6 | 562 m | 3.7% |
| 7 | 604 m | 3.9% |
| 8 | 651 m | 4.6% |
| 9 | 706 m | 5.3% |
| 10 | 753 m | 5.3% |
| 11 | 740 m | -1.6% |
| 12 | 732 m | -0.6% |
| 13 | 721 m | -1.2% |
| 14 | 731 m | 0.9% |
| 15 | 738 m | 0.7% |
| 16 | 730 m | -0.9% |
| 17 | 759 m | 3.2% |
| 18 | 815 m | 5.0% |
| 19 | 882 m | 6.4% |
| 20 | 932 m | 4.8% |
| 21 | 942 m | 1.2% |
| 22 | 1031 m | 7.9% |
| 23 | 1089 m | 5.7% |
| 24 | 1123 m | 3.3% |
| 25 | 1172 m | 6.0% |
| 26 | 1234 m | 5.4% |
| 27 | 1319 m | 9.1% |
| 28 | 1397 m | 7.0% |
| 29 | 1444 m | 4.9% |
| 30 | 1547 m | 9.8% |
| 31 | 1614 m | 7.2% |
| 32 | 1696 m | 9.0% |
| 33 | 1787 m | 8.9% |
| 34 | 1869 m | 7.9% |
| 35 | 1944 m | 7.2% |
| 36 | 1991 m | 6.0% |
| 37 | 2087 m | 8.5% |
| 38 | 2112 m | 2.3% |
What it’s like to ride
The road leaves the Tabernas desert floor and runs alongside the A-92 without ever joining it, so the opening kilometres are gentle and fully exposed before the real climbing starts at Gérgal. From there it is roughly 23 km and about 1,390 m of ascent at around 6%, a long grind that sits near 7% for kilometre after kilometre with pitches into double figures and a steepest kilometre of about 11%. Aulago, some 8 km up, is the only real sign of life and the last place to fill bottles, because there is nothing above it. Young pine forest takes over through the middle of the climb and gives some shade, then thins out above 2,000 m and leaves bare, scrubby ground and long views back over the province. The final stretch steepens again into switchbacks before the top at 2,168 m, where half a dozen huge white domes of the Calar Alto observatory sit on the ridge. The surface is good and traffic is light, but there is no café and no water at the summit: the nearest food is back down in Gérgal, or the petrol station near the foot of the climb.
History
The summit road exists to serve the Calar Alto Astronomical Observatory, sited up here because this is the driest part of Europe. It stayed a forest track until the summer of 2004, when it was asphalted so the Vuelta a España could finish on it, a plan put forward on the recommendation of the former professional Juan Martínez Oliver. The race took this Gérgal ascent that September, Roberto Heras winning the 145 km stage from Almería, and came back the same way in 2006 for a win by Igor Antón. Names painted on the tarmac by fans during the Vuelta are still legible on the upper slopes.
Worth stopping near the climb
More climbs in Granada
Common questions
- How long and steep is Calar Alto (from Tabernas)?
- Calar Alto (from Tabernas) is a 38.8 km cycling climb averaging 4.5% (+1828 m), rising from 401 m to 2154 m in Granada.
- Where is Calar Alto (from Tabernas) steepest?
- The steepest 500 m averages 12.7%, between km 28.9 and km 29.3 of the climb.
- How many hairpins does Calar Alto (from Tabernas) have?
- Calar Alto (from Tabernas) has 16 hairpin bends, counted from the road's map geometry (a hairpin here means at least 150 degrees of turning completed within 150 metres of road). Painted corner numbers on some climbs count gentler bends too, so the two figures can differ.