Los Gálves from Castillo de Baños

It's hard to get here and there is huge competition of great climbs all around. Nevertheless, it is worth it!
The best place to start is in front of the shop and restaurant in Castillo de Baños. The initial section takes you along the main road, but there are no bike restrictions and the shoulder is wide and safe. After crossing the viaduct over the motorway, we approach the main course proper. A sharp turn to the left onto a concrete road, then another to the right and the kilometre-long killer section begins. I think at times it clearly breaks 20％ of gradient. If you get over it, nothing surprises you afterwards.
Further on, the surface changes to asphalt and the climb flattens out slightly. A very deep cliff with a deep green valley accompanies us on the left. There is a slight downhill to the village of Los Diaz, after which we have to tackle the last difficult section of about 500m. The next development is not yet Los Gálves, but the unmarked Rubia on the maps. In March 2023, there was road repair work going on in its vicinity - part of it is thus slightly dirtied with gravel, and there is also a stony section of several metres (probably to be asphalted soon).
Los Gálves is at the very end of the valley. It is worth driving down to the village - you can fill up your bottle with water in the square in front of the church. Return along the same road - it is not possible to go higher with a road bike.