Barfaluy is among the best-known names in the Vero valley, because the gorge that carries it is one of the classic short walks in the Sierra de Guara, a narrow slot of rock where the walls close in overhead. The shelters of this area belong to the Levantine tradition of rock painting and are included in the UNESCO listing of 1998, and the third in the series sits in the broken limestone above the ravine.
Where Barfaluy is concerned, it helps to know what you are looking at on the way. The Vero canyon is cut into limestone laid down in a warm shallow sea tens of millions of years ago, then lifted as the Pyrenees rose and carved by water since. That is why the shelters exist at all: soft layers erode faster than hard ones and leave overhangs under the cap rock. The painters picked dry, shaded spots with a view, and the species they portrayed, deer, wild goats and bulls, still live in the neighbourhood, or at least their descendants do.
On two wheels the valley road is the draw. It is the A-1232 from Barbastro, winding through low hills, then following the river upstream beyond Alquézar. Bends are a mix of tight hairpins and quick left-rights, the surface is generally good, and the traffic is light outside of holiday weekends. Wind blows down from the north in winter, and in summer the temperature at midday can climb above thirty-five. Aim for the first hours of the day, or for an afternoon in October, when the oak leaves turn and the light is long.
That town sits at the junction of the mountains and the plain, with a good market and a collection of wine bars serving the Somontano reds and whites. Walking in the ravine proper is mostly a summer activity, and the water can run high after storms, so look at the sky before you go.