A line of archers closing in on a herd of deer, one animal already wounded and fleeing: the hunting scene in the Cova dels Cavalls is one of the most reproduced images of Spanish prehistoric art, and it sits in the Barranc de la Valltorta, a dry limestone gorge in the Castellón hinterland between Albocàsser and Tírig. The Valltorta shelters, together with nearby Gasulla, form one of the key groups of Levantine rock art, and the Museu de la Valltorta near Tírig runs guided visits to the main shelter and explains the paintings with replicas and finds. Check visiting times at the museum before you set off, because the shelter is only seen with a guide.
The Maestrat, as this upland country is called, is a land of dry stone walls, almond and olive terraces, holm oaks and isolated stone farmhouses, the masos, many of them abandoned. Villages like Catí, with its Gothic stone houses, and Albocàsser, with its arcaded square, grew rich on wool in the Middle Ages, when flocks moved along drove roads between the coast and the Aragonese mountains. Ares del Maestrat, a little further inland, perches on a cliff with a ruined castle and huge views.
On two wheels, the Maestrat is a treat. The roads climb from the coastal plain into the hills in long series of bends, wind between villages on high plateaus and drop into gorges, with good surfaces, light traffic and very few towns. The CV-15 is the main artery, fast and flowing; the smaller roads off it are narrower and more fun. In winter it can be cold and foggy up here, and in summer the midday sun is relentless, so plan for early starts.
Services are thin. Albocàsser and Coves de Vinromà are villages of under two thousand people with a bar or two; for reliable fuel, head to Alcalà de Xivert on the coast, eighteen kilometres away, or to Vilafranca or Morella further inland. Local food is hearty: lamb, cured sausages, truffles from the Maestrat in winter, and the cheese of Catí.