Four shelters along the Barranc del Salt are numbered in Roman numerals, and the fourth is the subject here. It lies in the folded limestone country between Cocentaina and Benilloba, a short way inland from Alcoy, where the foothills of the Serra de Mariola press up against the valley of the Serpis river. The painting is in the Levantine tradition, and the site is part of the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean basin rock art.
Cocentaina is an easy base. It has a population of about eleven and a half thousand, with fuel, supermarkets and a handful of restaurants around the old town. The great palace of the counts of Cocentaina overlooks the main street, and every autumn the town holds an important fair, the Fira de Tots Sants, which has been going for centuries and brings the whole valley in for food, livestock and noise. Behind it, the Serra de Mariola is a natural park covered in aromatic herbs, with a reputation for good walking and plenty of picnic sites.
On a motorcycle, the lanes leading into the barranc are narrow and often steep, and sections near the track are rough. The main roads up into the Serra de Mariola are better, with a mix of open bends and tight hairpins through pine and oak, and the views over the Comtat valley are wide. There are cyclists at weekends and a few hunters in the cooler months, but otherwise little traffic. A rider who is happy to take it slowly will find the surroundings absorbing.
Nature here is rewarding. Foxes and wild boar are common, and in the rocks you may spot a Bonelli's eagle or a peregrine. The smell of thyme, rosemary and pine resin is strong on a warm day, and in autumn the fungus hunters are out in the woods. Water in the barranc is scarce in summer, so bring plenty.
Spring is the best season for riding and for walking. Summer afternoons are hot and heavy, and in winter the mist can hang for days on the heights above the valley.