Alto de Velefique

Andalusia's answer to the Stelvio, a dense ladder of hairpins out of the desert onto a 1791m sierra summit.

The AL-3102 climbs the northern flank of the Sierra de los Filabres between the village of Velefique and Bacares, and it is widely called the Spanish Stelvio for good reason. From Velefique the road stacks roughly two dozen tight hairpins up an almost lunar, near-treeless slope, with the cyclist Miguel Indurain's name painted on a rock face near the top. The surface is reportedly excellent and traffic is light, which is part of the appeal, and the Vuelta a Espana has used it repeatedly as a first-category summit. The contrast of starting in semi-desert and finishing on an exposed 1791m ridge is the signature. Mind the steep ramps that touch around 17 percent, the lack of barriers above the drops, and occasional winter closures up top.