Pico Almadén (Mancha Real)

Start Town	Altitude	Elevation Gain	Length	Gradient	Difficulty	Rating
Mancha Real	2,038m	1,455m	28.4 km	5.1%	1,078	***

Climb Description

Pico Almadén is the highest road climb in the province of Jaén, and one of the most challenging. It's proximity to the city of Jaeén makes it an alluring prospect to local cyclists; however, many choose to climb only the first half as far as Moj&ocaute;n Blanco, rather than take their chances with the dicey road surface on the latter stages of the climb.

The first part of the climb is largely in forest, with pleasant scenery, but no spectacular views. This changes on the upper slopes as you get above the tree line, and suddenly panoramic views of most of the Jaén province appear.

Pico Almadén is nominally open throughout the year, although short to medium term closures in winter are common during periods of snowfall. These rarely last long however, and it is one of the few non-ski resorts in Europe that allows a road cyclist to climb to such high altitude in the heart of winter.

Pico Almadén is open throughout the year.

Roads & Traffic

The road surface is variable throughout the climb. Until the first pass at Mojón Blanco it is generally very good, having been resurfaced fairly recently. After reaching here (14.5km into the profile) it deteriorates considerably.

It basically becomes a gravel road, and the final 13km are probably more suited to a mountain bike than a road bike. It might just about be passable on a road bike if you take a bit of care, but we would advise just riding the first half of the climb.

The road is quite busy as far as Mancha Real; however, after passing here it becomes very quiet.

Alternative Routes

This is the only way to climb to Pico Almadén.

Nearby Climbs

La Pandera

Cycling Holidays

We can arrange customized cycling holidays to the mountains of Andalucia; including the climb to Pico Almadén. If you would be interested in this, please contact us to discuss the options and to put together an itinerary.

You may also be interested in the links below to some of the other tours that we currently run in Spain.