The Bajo Aragón is a country of gypsum cliffs, olive groves and slow rivers, and the Río Martín cuts through it in a series of gorges that shelter some of the finest rock art in Aragon. Covacho de Eudoviges, near the village of Alacón, is one of the painted sites of the Río Martín Cultural Park, and it forms part of the Levantine art that UNESCO recognised in 1998. The paintings are small, red, and sometimes faint, but in the right light the figures stand out sharply from the rock.
The nearest bigger town is Andorra, in the province of Teruel, which has nothing to do with the Pyrenean principality. It grew up around coal mining and a power station, which closed in recent years, and the town has an honest, industrial character. The countryside around it is surprisingly beautiful, with limestone canyons and groves of old olive trees whose oil has a regional protected name. Calanda, to the north, is the birthplace of the film maker Luis Buñuel, and its Holy Week drumming, in which thousands of people beat drums together for hours, is one of the strangest and most impressive sights in Spain.
For a rider the area offers quiet roads, wide landscapes and almost no traffic. The corners are gentle, with the odd tight one where a road drops to cross the river, and long stretches of open plateau where the wind can push the bike. Surfaces are fair, though patchy on the smaller roads. Fuel is available in Andorra. Alacón and Oliete, each with around four hundred and fifty inhabitants, offer bars at best. A ham sandwich, made from the Teruel cured ham with its protected name, is a good lunch.
Summer is hot and dry, and winter is cold and frosty, so the shoulder seasons are best. The poppies in May are a joy, and the October light on the cliffs is tremendous.
Reaching the shelter means a walk on a stony path from the road, and the site is protected, so follow any signs and ask locally if in doubt.