Very few people get here. The Cañaica del Calar lies in the far north-west of the region of Murcia, near the border with Albacete and Andalusia, in a wild landscape of limestone plateaus, pine forests and deep valleys around Moratalla and Nerpio. The calar is the local word for a limestone plateau, and the rock shelters on its edges hold prehistoric paintings in the Levantine style, part of the World Heritage rock art of the Mediterranean. The area around Nerpio is one of the richest in Spain for rock art.
The landscape is remote and beautiful. The mountains of the Sierra de Segura and the Sierra de Taibilla rise to over two thousand metres, and the rivers Segura and Taibilla cut deep valleys through them. The forests are home to wild boar, mountain goats and birds of prey, and the villages are small and scattered. Nerpio is known for its walnut trees, some of them centuries old, and the walnuts are a local specialty. In winter, snow can cover the high plateaus.
The riding here is a real adventure. The roads are narrow and winding, climbing over mountain passes and through deep valleys, with tight bends, steep gradients and often rough surfaces. Traffic is almost non-existent, which means you have the roads to yourself, but also that help may be far away. The road from Moratalla to Nerpio crosses wild mountain country, with spectacular views. Summer is hot in the valleys but cool in the mountains, and winter can bring snow and ice. Carry water and plan fuel stops carefully.
Nerpio, eleven kilometres away, is a village of about sixteen hundred people with basic services, and Moratalla, twenty-six kilometres away, is a larger town with fuel and shops. Yeste and Letur, nearby villages, have old centres worth visiting. The local food is hearty mountain cuisine: game, lamb and dishes made with local walnuts. The rock art interpretation centre in Nerpio is a good place to start. In the evening, the silence in these mountains is total, and the night sky is full of stars.