Almansa is one of those towns you see from the motorway and do not stop at, and that is a mistake. Its castle is spectacular, a Gothic fortress built on a sharp limestone outcrop right in the middle of town, looking exactly like a child's drawing of a castle. Around it spreads a wide plain at about seven hundred metres, the meeting point of the Valencian, Murcian and Castilian lands, and a few kilometres out in the surrounding hills lies the ravine known as the Barranco del Cabezo del Moro.
The painted shelters in this area belong to the same broad family as those along the Valencian mountains, part of the UNESCO-listed rock art of the Mediterranean basin. They sit in quiet ravines, often protected by fencing, and the figures are small, red and easy to miss. The name of the ravine, like so many others in Spain that refer to Moors, says more about how later villagers explained old things in their landscape than about who actually made them.
Almansa's other claim to fame is a battle. In 1707, during the War of the Spanish Succession, the plain outside the town saw a decisive victory for the Bourbon side, which helped settle the Spanish crown on Philip V and led to the loss of the old Valencian legal privileges. There is a monument to the battle on the plain, and locals still talk about it.
For riding, Almansa is a good hub. The road north toward Ayora drops through a deep valley full of character, with bends and changing views, while the roads west and south across the plateau are fast and open. The surfaces on the main CM and N roads are good; smaller routes are rougher. Wind is a fact of life on the plain, and winter can be cold. The town has all services, plenty of fuel and some good places to eat, with gazpacho manchego, a hearty stew of game and flatbread, the dish to look for. Spring, with the plain green and wildflowers in the verges, is the time to come.