The name suggests a spring and a trout, and you can hold on to the idea of water even if the shelter itself is dry. The Cueva de la Fuente de Trucho is one of the rock shelters that the archaeologists place in the Vero valley, two and a half kilometres from Alquézar, and it belongs with the painted overhangs of the Iberian Mediterranean arc that UNESCO recognised in 1998. Springs matter in this part of Aragon, which is dry for most of the year, and prehistoric people came to places like this for the same reason that modern walkers do: water, shade and a view.
The setting is the Sierra de Guara, the last big limestone upland before the Pyrenees proper. Riding in from the south you leave the wine and almond country of the Somontano and climb into scrub oak, box and pine. The Vero has carved a long canyon in soft rock, and the road beside it, a typical Aragonese secondary route, is narrow and winding but mostly good tarmac. Expect a little gravel at the edges, tractors in the harvest season and cyclists in the early morning. Take it slowly and the valley is a real pleasure; take it fast and you will meet a van on a blind bend.
Alquézar itself is the natural place to rest. It has a few bars, a couple of restaurants and a collegiate church standing on a rock that the Moors once fortified, and the late afternoon light on its walls is the best thing in the village. Footbridges and walkways take you above the river in the gorge. Eagles and vultures use the thermals along the cliffs, and in spring the air carries the smell of wild thyme and rosemary, both of which grow in thick tufts on the rocky ground.
Fuel is the thing to plan for. There is none in Alquézar, and the nearest sizeable town is Barbastro, nineteen kilometres away, where you will also find supermarkets and a good Gothic cathedral. The valley is busy with canyoners from Easter to October, so weekdays are calmer for riding. If you want a drink of local wine, the Somontano reds and rosés are easy to drink and kind on the wallet.