There is a valley behind the Costa Blanca that most beach visitors never suspect, and the Barranc de l'Infern cuts right through it. Between the Vall de Laguar and the Vall d'Ebo, a river gorge drops deep into the limestone, and the old mule paths that zigzag down one side and up the other are among the most famous walks in the Valencian region, sometimes called the cathedral of hiking for the thousands of stone steps laid by the Moorish farmers who once worked these terraces. The set of rock-art shelters recorded under this name lies around the gorge, part of the wider prehistoric painted landscape of the Marina Alta.
The history of the valleys is not gentle. After the Christian conquest the farmers here remained Muslim in faith or in culture, and in 1609, when the Moriscos were expelled from Spain, the people of these mountains rose in revolt and made a last stand around the Vall de Laguar before being defeated and shipped away. The villages were later resettled, and the terraces, ruined farmhouses and dry-stone walls you see from the road are partly their work.
For riders, the area is a playground. The CV-712 from Pego climbs through the Vall d'Ebo and on towards Castell de Castells in a seemingly endless series of tight, cliff-edged bends, narrow and often patched but blissfully quiet. Close by, the Coll de Rates above Parcent is a local favourite with cyclists and bikers alike, a smooth climb with views down to the coast. On these roads you share space with goats, the odd tractor and climbers' vans, and the surface can carry gravel washed down from the slopes after storms, which hit hard here in autumn.
You might find a bar in the square but do not count on fuel; Pego and Orba to the east, or Benissa and Dénia nearer the coast, are where to fill the tank. Spring is glorious, with almond blossom and wild flowers on the terraces, and autumn is good once the heat breaks. In midsummer the gorge becomes a furnace by late morning, so arrive early, take water, and if you fancy a walk down into the barranc, leave the boots on the bike and wear something you can actually climb steps in.