Puerto del Pico

Hairpin climb over the Sierra de Gredos beside a famous old cobbled calzada

The N-502 climbs over the Puerto del Pico in the Sierra de Gredos, a broad hairpin ascent from Cuevas del Valle that shadows a remarkably preserved old paved calzada, long known as a Roman road though its exact origins are debated. The summit lookout gives a sweeping view back down the stacked switchbacks and the ancient cobbled track. It is a wide, well-graded mountain road that flows well rather than fighting you. Mind grazing and migrating livestock, gusty crosswinds at the col, and the maximum gradient nudging into the low teens.