The name means the stream of the foxes' spring, which is the kind of place name that only survives in country where people still walk. The ravines around Nerpio hold dozens of painted rock shelters, with Levantine and Schematic paintings of hunters, animals and symbols, and they form part of the UNESCO listing of rock art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula. Visits to many of them need to be arranged through the local interpretation centre.
The landscape is wild and beautiful. Limestone peaks rise above pine forests and terraced fields, and the River Taibilla winds through a narrow valley lined with poplars and walnut trees. Nerpio is known for its walnuts, and in autumn the trees turn the valley yellow. The villages are small, quiet and remote, with white houses, steep lanes and very few visitors.
The riding is superb but demanding. Roads twist through the mountains, with tight hairpins, narrow sections, steep gradients and few guard rails. Surfaces vary, with patches of gravel, broken edges and occasional rockfall, and wildlife, including ibex, deer and wild boar, can appear on the road. Traffic is extremely light; you can ride for long stretches without meeting another vehicle, which is wonderful until you need help.
Plan your fuel carefully. Nerpio is a small village of under two thousand people, and services are limited, so fill up beforehand in Huéscar, about thirty-six kilometres away, or in Caravaca de la Cruz in Murcia. Yeste and Segura de la Sierra are also small. Village bars serve simple, hearty food: roast lamb, gazpacho manchego, which here is a game and flatbread stew rather than a cold soup, and local cheese and cured meats.
April, May and October are ideal, with green or golden hills and comfortable temperatures. Summer brings heat and the risk of forest fires, winter can bring snow to the higher roads. A ride through these mountains is a step back in time, through a landscape that has been inhabited, hunted and painted for thousands of years.