Almansa announces itself from far away: a castle perched on a limestone crag right in the middle of the town, its walls and towers silhouetted against the sky. The town sits at the eastern edge of La Mancha, where the high plateau meets the mountains of Valencia, and it was here, in April 1707, that one of the decisive battles of the War of the Spanish Succession was fought, when the Bourbon army defeated an allied force and secured the throne of Spain for Philip V. A monument on the battlefield and a museum in town tell the story. In the hills to the north, near Alpera, the Abric Pedro Mas holds prehistoric paintings, part of the UNESCO listing of Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula. Nearby, the Cueva de la Vieja is one of the best-known Levantine sites, with archers, deer and goats.
The landscape around Alpera is open and dry, with fields of cereals, vineyards and almond trees, surrounded by rocky hills covered in pine and scrub. To the east, the Ayora valley leads into the mountains of Valencia, with deep gorges, rivers and the vast Caroig massif. Wind farms line some of the ridges, a sign of the strong winds that sweep across the plateau.
The riding is good, especially if you like empty roads and open landscapes. The roads around Alpera and Almansa are mostly straight, with some curves through the hills, and very little traffic. To the east, the road through the Ayora valley and over the mountains to the coast is more winding and scenic. The wind can be strong and gusty, especially on exposed sections. Summer is hot and dry, while winter is cold, with frost and occasional snow.
Almansa, about nine kilometres away, is a town of twenty-six thousand with fuel, shops and restaurants. Alpera, a small village, has a few bars and a visitor centre for the rock art. Look for ajo mataero, a rustic paste of pork liver, bread and spices, or gachas, a porridge of flour, garlic and pork. The local wines, especially the reds made from Garnacha Tintorera, are robust and full of flavour.