In 1910 a local man led researchers to a shallow shelter above the plain of Alpera in Albacete, and the paintings they found there became some of the best known examples of Levantine rock art in Spain. The Cueva de la Vieja shows archers with feathered headdresses, women in long skirts, deer and goats, all painted with a sense of movement that still feels immediate. The nearby Cueva del Queso holds more figures. Both are part of the UNESCO listing for the rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean, and guided visits run from the village, so check times with Alpera's tourist office.
The shelter looks out over the Corredor de Almansa, a broad, high valley that has carried roads and armies between the Meseta and the coast of Valencia for centuries. In 1707 the Battle of Almansa, a few kilometres south, was a decisive moment in the War of the Spanish Succession. Today the corridor is lined with wind turbines, vineyards and almond orchards, and the Almansa castle, perched on a single rock, can be seen from far away.
Alpera itself, a village of about two thousand three hundred people, sits at the foot of the Sierra del Mugrón, and the climb to the shelters is a short walk up the hillside with wide views. The air here is dry and clear, and in spring wildflowers fill the margins of the fields.
Riding around Alpera mixes long, open roads across the plain with more interesting stretches into the hills. The road west to Carcelén and Alatoz crosses quiet farmland with very little traffic, while the route toward Ayora drops into the Valencian hills with better corners and more relief. Summer heat is strong, and wind on the high plain can be tiring. Winter mornings are often frosty, as this is high country at around seven hundred metres or more.
For fuel and food, Alpera has the basics, and Almansa, about twenty kilometres south, is a sizeable town with everything you need. Ayora, the nearest town of five thousand, lies seventeen kilometres east in the Valley of Ayora-Cofrentes. Gazpacho manchego, a hearty stew of game and flatbread rather than the cold soup, is the local dish to look for on a chilly day.