Ontinyent sits in the Vall d'Albaida, in the south of Valencia, a town of about thirty-eight thousand people with a long textile tradition that goes back to wool, blankets and, more recently, home textiles. The Clariano river runs through it, and the hills around are wrinkled limestone, covered in pine, holm oak and wild herbs. In the shelter of those hills, small rock overhangs, called abrics here, carry paintings made by prehistoric people, and the Abric de la Monja is one of them, part of the Mediterranean Basin rock art that UNESCO listed in 1998.
These are not grand monuments. Most of the shelters are small and in remote spots, requiring a walk along a ravine path, and the paintings are often faint, small figures in red that take a moment for the eye to pick out. Some sites are fenced or signposted, others are hard to find, and all are fragile. Look, photograph without flash, and leave everything as it is. The local tourist office can tell you which sites are open and how to reach them.
Not far to the east rises the Serra Mariola, a natural park with an aromatic carpet of thyme, rosemary and mountain tea, which is the base of a local herbal liqueur, the herbero. The nearby towns of Banyeres de Mariola and Cocentaina have castles and old centres that suit a lazy afternoon. In Ontinyent itself, fuel and lunch are easy, and bars serve arròs al forn, rice baked in the oven with potatoes, ribs and morcilla.
The roads that wind through the Vall d'Albaida and up into the Mariola are enjoyable, with gradual climbs, rock walls and long views over terraced slopes of olives and almonds. Surfaces are generally good. Heat in July and August is fierce, so ride early, while March to May and October to November are best. Almond blossom in late winter gives the valleys a pale, drifting beauty, and the smell of pine resin after rain lingers in the air.