Up in the dry limestone uplands of inland Castellón, the Valltorta and Gasulla ravines hold one of the densest concentrations of Levantine rock art in Spain, and the Coveta de Montegordo is one of its many small shelters. Painted under rock overhangs some seven or eight thousand years ago, perhaps more, the figures here are tiny, often no taller than a finger, yet astonishingly alive: archers running with bows drawn, goats and deer leaping, hunters following wounded animals. The whole region is part of the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin listing inscribed by UNESCO in 1998, and the famous Cova dels Cavalls in the Valltorta shows a deer hunt with a line of archers waiting in ambush.
This is the Maestrat, or Maestrazgo, a harsh and beautiful land of high plateaus, stone terraces, drystone huts and fortified villages that once belonged to the military orders of knights. Albocàsser and Catí are the closest villages, small and stony, with arcaded squares and Gothic churches, and the Valltorta museum at Tírig explains the paintings and offers guided visits to the shelters. Almond and olive trees cling to the terraces, and in winter the high villages can be bitterly cold, with a wind that cuts through any jacket.
For riders, the Maestrat is one of Spain's great unsung regions. The roads twist across plateaus and down into ravines, with long views over endless ridges and very little traffic. The CV-15 and the smaller roads towards Morella, the walled hilltop town that crowns the region, are a joy, with fast sweepers on the plateaus and tight hairpins on the descents. Surfaces are mostly good, though gravel and rockfall can appear, and wildlife, including wild boar and the occasional ibex, can cross without warning.
There is little fuel in the high villages, so fill up in Alcalà de Xivert or other coastal towns before heading inland, or in Vilafranca or Morella. Albocàsser has a few bars, and the Maestrat cooking is mountain food: lamb, cured ham, truffles in winter, and hearty soups. Carry water in summer, when the plateau bakes under a fierce sun.