Albarracín is built of the colour of the land. The village stands above a loop of the Guadalaviar river in a bowl of rust-red sandstone, with houses of pinkish plaster and timber balconies stepping up the slope and a long line of medieval walls climbing the ridge behind. It has a population of about a thousand and the look of a place preserved by being slightly out of the way, and it was declared a national monument as a whole. The Abrigo de Lázaro is under four kilometres off, in the pine woods of the Rodeno, the red rock that surrounds the town and has been painted by human hands for thousands of years.
The approach by road is splendid. The Sierra de Albarracín runs between Teruel and the Cuenca highlands, a high, cold, dry country of pines and juniper on the divide between the Tagus, the Turia and the Jiloca, and the routes through it are quiet and winding, with long views and few cars. The bends are moderate and the surface good, and in autumn the woods turn colours that are unexpected in Aragon. Be wary of winter, when snow and ice can close the higher roads, and the nights are very cold.
The town has a history that is easy to read. It was an independent Muslim taifa and then a Christian lordship, the Señorío de Albarracín, which stayed practically independent until the late thirteenth century, and its walls and towers recall those turbulent years. The streets are narrow and steep, so leave the bike at the car park at the edge and walk in. Local food, such as roast lamb, cured ham from Teruel and migas, goes well with a cold day.
Teruel, twenty-six kilometres off by the straight line though longer by road, is the sensible fuel stop, and its Mudéjar towers are a World Heritage Site worth seeing. Gea de Albarracín, with its small shops, and Cella, with about 2,800 people, give you closer options. The rock shelters in the Rodeno are among the Levantine sites on the list, with paintings in red among the red rocks, so look carefully, as they can disappear into the stone.