Alicante is the city that everybody knows, but the hills behind it are the part you can have to yourself. This shelter lies in the dry interior north of the city, between El Campello on the coast and the towns of Mutxamel and San Juan, in a landscape of marl, pine and abandoned almond terraces. It is a long way from the seafront.
The name suggests a cave full of mosquitos, which tells you something about the damp spots in an otherwise parched region. The painted sites in this part of Alicante province belong to the Levantine tradition, tiny red figures of hunters and animals that UNESCO recognised in 1998 as part of the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin. They lie scattered through the barrancs, and finding them is as much a matter of local knowledge as anything else.
The coast below has history too. At El Campello you can visit the remains of an Iberian settlement on a tiny island called the Illeta dels Banyets, which was inhabited from the Bronze Age onward, and the town is a working fishing and holiday place with a harbour and a long beach. A bit further, the old city of Alicante is crowned by the Castle of Santa Bárbara, and the road to Xixona leads to the home of turrón, the nougat that fills Spanish Christmas tables.
For riders the interest here is the afternoon loop: leave the coast, climb through the hills on narrow country roads, and drop back down with the sea shining ahead. Corners are mostly short and tidy, the surface is often coarse in the local fashion, and cyclists are everywhere on weekends. Avoid the middle of the day in summer; the heat is intense and the hills hold it. October through April is ideal, and the sunsets over the plain are wonderful.
Fuel and food are no trouble. El Campello is the nearest large town, with plenty of pumps and seaside restaurants serving rice dishes and grilled fish. Bring water for the walk.