The Vall d'Ebo is one of those valleys that history has emptied. In 1609 the Spanish crown ordered the expulsion of the Moriscos, the descendants of the region's Muslim population, and in the mountains of the Marina Alta, many villages lost almost everyone overnight. Some Moriscos resisted in the high cliffs of the Muela de Cortes before the end came. Vall d'Ebo today has barely three hundred inhabitants, and its terraced fields, built by Morisco farmers for irrigation, are still visible as stone steps climbing the hillsides.
Al Patró lies in this broken limestone country, with a rock shelter that is part of the Mediterranean Basin rock art tradition listed by UNESCO in 1998. A famous neighbour is the Penya Escrita, a cliff with schematic paintings that can be reached on a short walk. In this tradition, sites are small, delicate and sometimes remote, so take local advice, wear sturdy boots and respect any fencing. The ravines are hot in summer and filled with the scent of thyme and pine.
Pego, the nearest sizeable town, with about eleven thousand people, lies below the hills on the edge of the Pego-Oliva wetlands, where rice is grown in flooded fields and birds nest in reeds. It has fuel, restaurants and a Saturday market. Villalonga, a bit closer, is smaller. In the villages around, you will find simple, hearty food: rice dishes, local oranges, almonds, and honey, and the coffee is strong.
The riding here is first class. The roads from the coast climb into the mountains in a series of bends, with tight corners and long rock walls, and the views of the Mediterranean from the ridges are dramatic. Traffic is light, except in summer when coastal visitors venture inland. Look out for cyclists, who love these climbs, and for loose gravel on the corners. Spring and autumn are lovely, and the air after rain smells of damp earth and wild herbs.