The Barranc del Salt is a ravine on the edge of the Serra de Mariola, a limestone massif in the north of Alicante province that is protected as a natural park. The shelter here is one of several along the ravine, and it carries rock art in the Levantine tradition, small red figures painted long ago and protected by UNESCO as part of the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula. As elsewhere in this area, many of the images are faint, so approach it as a walk first and a picture-hunt second.
The Mariola is the real attraction for anyone who loves quiet country. It is famous for its herbs. Thyme, rosemary, mountain tea and dozens of aromatic plants grow on its slopes, and for generations local people have collected them to make an aniseed-flavoured herbal liqueur, the herbero, which you will see for sale in the villages. In the past, people also stored winter snow in great stone wells, the neveras, and sent ice down to the cities of the coast. A few of these round stone pits survive in the hills, and you may stumble on one.
The nearest settlement is Benilloba, a small village of under a thousand people, with Relleu and a few similar places not far away. For bigger supplies, Cocentaina, with over eleven thousand people, is the place, about ten kilometres off. It has a handsome palace of the old counts, a Saturday market and a lively medieval fair around All Saints, and fuel is easy to find there. Do not rely on a pump in the small villages.
The roads are the best part. The lanes climb through pine and oak with short, tight bends, then open onto terraced slopes of almonds and olives. Traffic is thin on weekdays, but at weekends, cyclists and walkers fill the lanes, so slow down on blind corners. The tarmac is usually decent but narrow, and in places broken by tree roots and washouts. Spring, when the hills are green and herb-scented, and autumn, with clear light and cool air, are the times to come. In July and August, the heat is intense and the rock holds it well into the evening.