Ulldecona sits at the foot of the Serra de Godall, in the southern tip of Catalonia, close to the border with Valencia and a short distance from the Ebro delta. The town is an old one, set among olive groves that produce a good oil, and above it stands the hermitage of La Pietat, with long views to the sea. The Abric d'Ermites VI is one of the rock shelters of the Ermites group, painted in the Levantine style with small red figures of hunters, and part of the Mediterranean Basin rock art inscribed by UNESCO in 1998. The shelters lie in the cliffs of the Godall range, and access is by foot with regulations to protect the paintings.
The country is dry and fragrant, with grey limestone ridges, scrubby pines, rosemary, and olive terraces climbing the slopes. The Serra de Godall is a modest range, but its cliffs hold griffon vultures, and in spring the ground is covered with flowers. The air is warm, and the smell of herbs is strong after rain. On a clear day you can see the sea, with the delta and its rice fields a flat green and gold plain beyond the hills.
For a motorcyclist, the road network of the Montsià and the Ports de Beseit is a fine area. Roads climb through olive groves with a series of long, easy bends, then wind into the hills with tighter corners and good views. Traffic is thin, and the surface is usually fair. In summer, the heat on the coast is intense, and the mountain roads are a relief. Winter is mild, though high roads can be misty.
Ulldecona is a town of over six thousand people with fuel, supermarkets and bars, and Santa Bàrbara and Masdenverge are smaller villages nearby. The local food is simple and good: olive oil, grilled vegetables, rice, and fish from the coast. Visit in spring, when the hills are green, or in autumn, when the heat has eased and the olive harvest begins.