Els Ports is the high, empty country in the north of Castellón province, a land of stone-walled terraces, deep gorges, juniper and pine, and villages that cling to ridges above the river valleys. Palanques is one of the smallest of them, and above it, in a long cliff band known as the Cingle de Palanques, are shelters with prehistoric paintings, part of the UNESCO Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin. The Levantine paintings here show human figures and animals in the expressive style typical of this coast's mountainous interior, and like most such sites, they are protected and usually visited with a local guide.
The region is deeply rural and sparsely populated. Forcall, nine kilometres away, sits where three rivers meet and has a fine arcaded square and a Renaissance palace, while Morella, thirteen kilometres off, is the jewel of the region: a walled town piled up around a castle on a rock, with Gothic churches and arcaded streets that feel almost unchanged since the Middle Ages. Morella's cuisine is hearty and mountain-based, with truffles in winter, lamb, cured ham and flaons, sweet cheese pastries.
The riding here is some of the best in eastern Spain. The roads through Els Ports and the Maestrazgo are narrow, winding, often freshly surfaced, and almost empty of traffic outside weekends and holidays. They climb over passes and plunge into gorges, with views over layered ridges that seem endless. Weather can be a factor: winters are cold, with snow on the high ground, summer storms can be violent, and the wind can be strong on exposed ridges.
Fuel is scarce in the smaller villages, so fill up in Morella or one of the larger towns before heading into the hills; Andorra in Teruel and Alcañiz are the nearest bigger centres to the north-west. Carry water, take your time and expect to share the road with sheep and the occasional hunter's pickup. Spring and autumn are the finest seasons, when the light is sharp and the air smells of thyme.