The Sierra Calderona is the wooded ridge behind Valencia's northern suburbs, and it is the best surprise on this coast. It is a natural park of pine, holm oak and rosemary, with low summits, deep ravines and a sense of space that is hard to believe so close to a large city. Wild boar wander the slopes, along with foxes, genets and a growing population of birds of prey, and in spring the slopes are full of orchids and cistus flowers.
The second Covacha Picayo shelter lies in this country, a short distance from Puçol, in a landscape of small hills and dry watercourses. It belongs to the Levantine group of painted sites, listed with the UNESCO Mediterranean Basin rock art in 1998, and it shows how far the tradition extended beyond the high mountains. These hunters were also coast dwellers, within reach of the sea.
Look for the signs of later human use as well. The area was once important for charcoal burning, for lime kilns, and for sheep. Stone huts and terraces dot the hills, and in the middle of the range stand the ruins of the Cartusian monastery of Portacoeli, founded in the Middle Ages and now a quiet historic site. The Calderona was also the hideout of bandits in the nineteenth century, a story that local people still enjoy telling.
On a bike you can explore the lower slopes by small roads that run inland from Puçol and Sagunto. They are narrow, with plenty of bends, mostly good tarmac, and a gentle climb, but they are popular with cyclists at weekends, so allow for them. The light is best in late afternoon, when the pines glow and the sea is visible beyond the plain. Spring and autumn are the ideal seasons, and summer is fierce.
Puçol is a town of nineteen thousand people, so petrol, supermarkets and cafés are close at hand, only three or four kilometres away. Bring water if you intend to walk, and mind the fire restrictions that apply in dry months in the natural park.