The Montsià range rises like a wall behind the Ebro delta in southern Catalonia, a ridge of grey limestone with steep slopes and rocky crags, and in a shelter on its flanks, near Santa Bàrbara and Masdenverge, the Abric de Masets holds traces of prehistoric paintings. It is part of the World Heritage Site of Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin. The paintings here are faded and fragmentary, but the site is a reminder that people have lived and hunted in this landscape for thousands of years.
Nearby, at Ulldecona, the sanctuary of the Ermita de la Pietat has some of the most important rock art in Catalonia, with dozens of shelters and many painted figures. Guided visits can be arranged, and the paintings there are better preserved.
Below the mountains lies the Ebro delta, one of the largest wetlands in the western Mediterranean, a flat world of rice paddies, lagoons, beaches and reed beds. Flamingos, herons and many other birds live here, and the rice grown in the delta is used in some of Spain's best paellas. Amposta, seven kilometres away, is the delta's main town, and its suspension bridge across the Ebro, built in the early twentieth century, is a local landmark.
The riding is varied. The roads across the delta are flat and straight, with wide views and strong winds. The roads into the Montsià and the hills behind are winding and steep, with views over the delta and the sea. To the west, the Ports de Beseit massif offers serious mountain riding, with tight curves and dramatic scenery. Traffic is light outside summer, when the coast fills with visitors.
Amposta has the fuel stations, the bike shop and the supermarkets. In the delta everything comes back to rice and the sea: arròs negre, black rice with squid ink, paella, and fish from the sea. A sunset over the delta, with flamingos in the lagoons and the mountains glowing behind, is unforgettable.