The real road to Coll de Rates is not for timid drivers
Coll de Rates is a mountain peak at an elevation of 928m (3,044ft) above the sea level, located in the comarca of Marina Alta, a region in the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community of Spain.
Located in the Costa Blanca area, the road to the summit is totally paved with concrete. Be careful: the road is narrow and dangerous. The summit hosts a fire lookout tower and communication towers, with a viewing platform. It’s heavily used for paragliding. Traffic is practically non-existant throughout the climb.
The road to the summit starts after a natural lookout (630 meters above the sea level) at the CV-715 road, a point which is commonly refered to as Coll de Rates, causing misunderstanding. There are unbelievable views throughout the climb, particularly looking towards the Costa Blanca.
The climb is extremely steep, hitting a 21% through some of the ramps and it’s a favourite training climb for professional and amateur racing cyclists from all over the world. Starting from Coll de Rates lookout/restaurant, on the CV-715 road, the ascent is 3.1 km (1.92 miles) long. Over this distance, the elevation gain is 299 meters. The average gradient is 9.64%.
Pic: Per Teigen