The thirteenth century left more traces in these mountains than people realise. When James I of Aragon took the kingdom of Valencia from the Muslim rulers, he met stubborn resistance in the valleys of the Marina Alta, and the leader of that resistance was a man called Al-Azraq. He held fortresses in the Vall de Gallinera and the surrounding hills for years, fighting two campaigns against the Christians before the region finally submitted. The Barranc de l'Infern, a deep ravine near the old Moorish villages, would have been part of the world he knew.
The fifth group of rock shelters in the ravine lies much further back in time, in a different story altogether. These are Levantine paintings, red figures on limestone, that archaeologists have numbered as conjuntos along the gorge. They belong to a tradition that UNESCO recognised in 1998 and that extends from Catalonia to Andalusia, along the mountains of the eastern Spanish seaboard. The people who painted them were hunters, and later perhaps early farmers, and the animals they drew are the same ones that still, in small numbers, inhabit these hills.
For a rider the approach is the draw. Roads here are narrow, steep and often empty, with a surface that varies from fresh tarmac to patched and cracked. The corners are tight enough to demand your attention, and some of the hairpins turn through terraced fields where almond and olive trees stand in rows. Murla is the closest village, small and quiet, and the larger town of Pego lies about seven kilometres away down the hill.
Weather matters. The summer sun is intense, and rain turns the limestone slick, so aim for spring or autumn, preferably in the morning when the air is cool and the light is low. If you walk any of the ravine, take water, good boots and a hat, and leave early enough to be back before the afternoon heat.
Fuel is in Pego, a town of eleven thousand people, and the villages up the valley are very small. Carry a little spare range if you can.