The Serra de Mariola is the green heart of the Valencia-Alicante borderlands, a mountain range of pine, holm oak and aromatic scrub that feeds the rivers Vinalopó and Clariano and perfumes the air with thyme and rosemary. The Abric del Pontet is one of its rock shelters, a small overhang with prehistoric paintings, part of the scattered UNESCO site that gathers the rock art of Mediterranean Spain. It sits between Bocairent, Alfafara and Ontinyent, and it is the kind of place that makes most sense as an excuse to explore the villages around it.
Bocairent is the star. Built on a rocky spur above a ravine, it has a medieval quarter of steep, narrow lanes, a bullring carved straight into the rock, and, on the cliff face across the gorge, the Covetes dels Moros: dozens of small windows cut into the limestone, opening onto chambers whose purpose nobody has fully explained. Granaries, refuges, a monastery? The guides will tell you the theories. In the hills above, the old snow wells of Mariola recall a trade that once sent compacted winter snow down to the coast in summer for medicine and ice cream.
The riding is excellent and varied. The road from Bocairent over to Banyeres de Mariola and on towards Alcoi winds along the flanks of the range with long views, good surface and little traffic. From Ontinyent the CV-81 runs fast through the Vall d'Albaida, while the smaller roads up to Agres and the Mariola sanctuary are tighter and more rewarding. Winter mornings here can be cold, at the altitude of these villages frost is common, while summer afternoons stay comfortable compared with the coast.
Mariola is also known for its herbal liqueur, herbero, distilled with a long list of local plants. Many families have their own recipe, and a small glass after lunch is local custom, though best saved for when the key is out of the ignition. The food leans to mountain dishes: hearty rice with beans and turnips, and the pilotes, big meatballs cooked in stew.
Ontinyent, five kilometres away, is a textile town of nearly forty thousand with fuel, workshops and plenty of places to eat. Bocairent has a station of its own on the main road too, and enough bars to fill an afternoon if the old quarter seduces you.