The Ebro still has rope ferries. At Miravet, a flat boat attached to a cable across the river carries cars, bikes and walkers from bank to bank, driven only by the current and the skill of the ferryman, as such ferries have done for centuries. Above the village, on a rocky hill, stands one of the great Templar castles of Catalonia, a stern stone fortress that controlled the river. Nearby, among the hills of the Ribera d'Ebre near Ginestar and Rasquera, the Cova del Cingle is a rock shelter with prehistoric paintings, part of the World Heritage Site of Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin.
The Ribera d'Ebre is a land of orchards, olive groves and vineyards along the river, with dry hills and mountains on either side. In 1938 it was the scene of the Battle of the Ebro, the longest and bloodiest battle of the Spanish Civil War, when the Republican army crossed the river in a last great offensive and was eventually pushed back. The ruins of the old village of Corbera d'Ebre, destroyed in the fighting and left as a memorial, and the trenches and memorials in the Serra de Pàndols tell the story.
The landscape is dramatic, with the river winding through gorges and plains, and the mountains of the Serra de Cardó and the Ports rising to the south. Summers are hot, and the valley can be very warm. Spring and autumn are pleasant, with green fields and blossoming trees.
The riding is a mix of river roads and mountain routes. The road along the Ebro, through Miravet, Benissanet and Móra d'Ebre, is scenic, and the roads into the hills are steep and winding. The Serra de Cardó and the roads towards the Priorat wine region offer excellent curves and views. Traffic is light, but watch for slow farm vehicles and cyclists.
Móra d'Ebre, the market town of the valley, is where to refuel and eat, and Mont-roig del Camp, twenty-three kilometres away, is the nearest larger place on the coast side. The olive oil is superb, and the dark, strong wines of the Terra Alta and Priorat grow on the hills around you. A crossing on the Miravet ferry, with the castle above and the river flowing beneath, costs a few coins and feels like stepping back two hundred years.