High in the Serranía de Cuenca, among pine woods and sandstone outcrops near the village of Villar del Humo, prehistoric hunters painted figures on the rock shelters thousands of years ago. The site called Castellón de los Machos is one of a cluster in this area that belongs to the vast UNESCO listing of rock art of the Mediterranean Basin of the Iberian Peninsula, which covers hundreds of painted shelters from Catalonia to Andalusia. The images here are small, reddish and stylised, and finding them takes patience and good eyes.
This is deeply rural Spain. The nearest villages, Villar del Humo and Cañete, have only a few hundred residents each, and the wider region has been emptying for decades. That leaves a landscape of rolling plateau and deep valleys, juniper and pine forest, red earth and scattered farms, where the loudest noise is often wind in the pines. In autumn, mushroom hunters comb the woods, and you may meet deer, wild boar or griffon vultures circling above the cliffs. Villar del Humo takes its name, according to local tradition, from smoke rising from the charcoal burners who once worked these forests.
The roads through the Serranía are a quiet treat: narrow, mostly well surfaced and almost empty, with long flowing bends through forest and occasional tight sections where they drop into river valleys. The ride north to the old fortified town of Cañete, and further on into the hanging rocks and gorges around the city of Cuenca, is excellent. Be aware of gravel on corners, livestock, and the occasional hunting party in season. Winters on the plateau are cold and can bring ice and snow, while summer afternoons are hot but much more bearable than down on the plains.
Fuel is the main thing to plan. There is no large town nearby, and the dependable option is to fill up in Cuenca or another sizeable town before heading in. Village bars serve simple meals; try morteruelo, a rich game pâté, or ajoarriero, a cod and garlic spread, with crusty bread. Carry water when visiting the shelters, which often involve a walk on rough paths.