The Matarraña, or Matarranya as most locals call it, is the corner of Aragón that feels Catalan, Valencian and Aragonese at once, and it has quietly become one of the most rewarding regions in Spain to explore on two wheels. The shelter known as Caídas del Salbimec lies in the hills between Valdeltormo, Mazaleón and Calaceite, one of the many prehistoric art sites along the eastern edge of the peninsula that are protected together by UNESCO. The paintings are modest, and access may involve a rough track and a walk, but the setting is typical of the region: a sandstone outcrop above olive groves and almond terraces, with the river cutting below.
Calaceite, a few kilometres away, is the village to see. Its main square is surrounded by stone mansions and arcades, and there is an Iberian settlement on a hill nearby, San Antonio, where the pre-Roman people of the area built a walled town. Further south, Valderrobres has a Gothic bridge over the Matarraña river leading straight through a gate into the old town, with a castle and church above it. It is one of the most photographed views in Aragón, and it deserves it.
The roads are a joy. Small, well-maintained and almost empty outside weekends, they wander between Calaceite, Cretas, Valderrobres and Beceite through rolling country that turns rugged towards the Els Ports massif in the south. Corners come one after another without ever becoming frantic, and the surface is mostly good. A little further west, near Alcañiz, the Motorland circuit hosts MotoGP, and on race weekends the whole area fills with bikes of every kind.
This is olive oil country first and foremost; the Bajo Aragón oil has its own protected designation, made mainly from the Empeltre variety, mild and golden. Peaches from nearby Calanda are bagged on the tree to protect them, and are famous across Spain. Ham, lamb and robust red wines complete a menu that suits a hungry rider.
Fuel is the thing to plan. The villages are small, Calaceite among them, and stations are thinly spread. Alcañiz, about twenty kilometres away, is the reliable choice, and Valderrobres has a station too. Summer heat is fierce in the valleys, while spring and autumn are glorious, with the rivers running and the hills green.