Bicorp lies at the edge of a green fold in the Canal de Navarrés, and the Cueva de la Araña is less than seven kilometres from it, up in the limestone gullies where the hills drop into the Barranco de Bicorp. This is the cave that put the Valencian interior on the map of European prehistory. A painted figure on its wall, climbing what look like ropes or tendrils towards a honeycomb while insects swarm around, is among the best-known pictures of honey-gathering anywhere, and rock-art textbooks tend to reproduce it.
The road is the standard approach: a narrow, twisting lane from the village that climbs and descends through pine and scrub for a few kilometres and then runs out at a parking area. Take it slowly, because the bends are tight and the surface can be broken, and be careful with gravel and loose stones at the edge. The best time is early on a cool morning in spring or autumn. By midday in summer the rock radiates heat and the hillside smells of resin and dust.
The rest of the district repays exploration. Navarrés, fifteen kilometres away, is the largest town nearby, with a fair spread of shops and a long history of farming on the plain of the Canal. Quesa, further up a side valley, is very small but pretty. Enguera has more services, and Ayora, eighteen kilometres to the west, has fuel as well as a good market. In the evenings, you can eat in a bar and watch the sun go down over a landscape that has hardly changed since the paintings were made.
Visiting the cave itself requires some planning. Access to the paintings is restricted, and the shelter is protected with a grille and managed by local authorities, so check ahead for opening arrangements and guided visits. The honey scene is not large, and it reveals itself slowly when your eyes adjust, so give it time. Afterward, stop for a jar of local honey and think about how long human beings have been climbing cliffs for sweetness.