Above the Taibilla valley, Nerpio's higher ground belongs to goats, vultures and wind. The Abrigo de los Cerricos lies a couple of kilometres from the village, among the limestone crags and pine slopes of the Sierra de Taibilla, where the Spanish ibex clambers over the rocks and griffon vultures ride the thermals above. Rock shelters like this one hold some of the finest prehistoric paintings in the region, human figures and animals traced in red pigment, and they sit under World Heritage protection. Cerrico is a diminutive of cerro, a hill, so the name suggests a small rise in the ground.
The approach has a lot of character. The roads from Yeste and from Moratalla both wind through high country, with long, climbing sweeps, tight bends over cattle grids and wide views across the sierra. It is exposed terrain, with strong gusts on the ridges, and clouds can drop quickly onto the high ground. Weather is changeable, so carry a waterproof jacket even in July, and in winter be prepared for ice. The surface is mostly good, but patched in places, and the nearest garage is far away.
Nerpio, about one and a half kilometres off, is the nearest village, with a bar or two and a few shops. Yeste, a market town, is twenty-five kilometres away and offers more services, and Moratalla, the larger town, is a long drive of nearly forty kilometres. If in doubt, fill up in Yeste. The landscape here is the source of the Segura river system, and the clear streams running off the sierra feed the water supply of towns far away on the Murcian coast, an unseen link between these empty hills and the crowded south-east.
If you can, linger in the evening. The vultures return to their roosts, the light turns amber on the cliffs, and the smell of wild thyme drifts on the air. It is easy to see why people painted here, because the place invites you to look.