Three centuries of travellers have called this ravine Hell without anyone quite agreeing why. The Barranc de l'Infern is a narrow gorge in the Vall de Laguar, in the Marina Alta of Alicante province, and it is best known today for a footpath that follows the ravine up and down a long staircase of stone steps said to number thousands, built by the Moriscos as a pack route between villages. Along the walls, in sheltered places, are several clusters of rock paintings, and this is the third group, numbered as a conjunto, with a painted shelter that belongs to the Levantine tradition.
Those paintings are small, red and quite weathered, and some of the figures are hard to read without patience. The shelters were recorded by archaeologists who numbered each group, which is why you will see labels such as Conjunto 3 and abrigo III in the listings. They are part of the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula, inscribed by UNESCO in 1998.
The ride up is a classic of the Marina Alta. From the coast you climb through orchards of orange and loquat toward Pego or Orba, then up into dry, steep country where the villages cling to the slopes. Murla, with about five hundred people, sits close by, and the road toward the ravine is narrow, twisting and often empty. Corners are tight and some are blind, so go carefully and expect gravel on the edges. A late afternoon ride in spring or autumn, when the light is long and the air smells of rosemary and warm stone, is as good as riding gets.
Fuel is available in Pego, a town of eleven thousand, about seven kilometres away, and nothing larger exists nearby. Fill the tank before climbing, because the villages above have little beyond a bar and a small shop. Bring water, sturdy shoes and a hat if you plan to walk.
The ravine path is steep, can be slippery after rain, and gets hot, so go early.