Canalejas de Abajo is a name on the map rather than a place with a church and a bar: a scattering of farms and old cortijos in the upper valley of the Taibilla river, south of Nerpio, in the mountains where Albacete, Jaén and Granada meet. The Sierra de Segura and the Sierra de las Cabras rise all around, high limestone country cut by deep valleys, and the region is known among archaeologists for its painted rock shelters. The Abrigo del Sabinar and others along the same valley hold some of the most important prehistoric paintings of the Spanish south east, drawn on the soft overhangs that the river and the wind have shaped.
This is a land of transhumance. For centuries shepherds drove their flocks along drove roads between the summer pastures of these mountains and the winter grazing of the Andalusian lowlands, and you will still see the old stone pens and huts dotted across the slopes. The valleys are dotted with sabinas, the slow-growing juniper trees that give some of the shelters their names, and the high meadows are bright with wildflowers in late spring.
The roads are narrow and winding, following the contours of the valleys and climbing over ridges with long views across the mountains. The road south from Nerpio towards Santiago de la Espada in Jaén is one of the great quiet rides of the region, all bends and empty space, though the surface can be patchy and gravel collects on the inside of corners. Snow and ice are serious hazards in winter, and in summer the afternoons can bring sudden thunderstorms that turn the tarmac slick within minutes.
There is no town of five thousand people anywhere close, which tells you everything about how remote this corner of Spain is. Nerpio, about seven kilometres away, has the basics, while Yeste and the villages of the Sierra de Segura further west are the other options. Fuel stations are few and far between, so a full tank before entering these mountains is not optional. Carry water, snacks and a basic tool kit, and let someone know your route. In return you get some of the darkest night skies in Spain, the smell of juniper and pine, and roads where an hour can pass without another vehicle.