Honey is one of the oldest sweet things that people ever stole, and the most famous painted honey-gatherer in the world is on a wall a few kilometres from here. The Cueva de la Araña is in the hills above Bicorp, in the Canal de Navarrés, and its scene shows a figure on what look like ropes or vines, reaching into a cleft where bees have made their nest, with insects around him and a bag or container on his arm. It is more than a picture of honey. It is a rare view of ordinary life in the age of the hunters, and for that reason, it appears in nearly every book on rock art.
The honey tradition has never died. The scrub-covered hills of inland Valencia, with their rosemary, thyme, orange blossom on the plains and wild flowers in the spring, give some of the most fragrant honey in Spain, and beekeepers still bring their hives into the area in season. In the villages you can often buy a jar from a producer. It makes a good souvenir and it fits in a pannier.
The ride to Bicorp from Navarrés or Enguera runs through a green and rocky landscape, with a narrow road, tight bends in places and very little traffic. Take care with gravel and loose stones, and with farm vehicles at blind corners. It is best on a cool day in spring or autumn, when the climb to the cave is easy and the pines smell of resin. Summer afternoons are hot and heavy.
Fuel is available at Navarrés, about fourteen kilometres away, and at Ayora, eighteen kilometres off. Bicorp and Quesa are tiny, with a bar apiece. Access to the cave itself is controlled, and it is essential to enquire about visiting arrangements beforehand. Take water and be respectful of the paintings.