To understand this part of Jaén, you need to remember that it was a border. For two and a half centuries after the great Christian victory at Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212, the frontier between Castile and the Muslim kingdom of Granada ran through the mountains to the south and east of here, and the towns of Quesada and Cazorla were fortified outposts. Castle towers still crown hills all over the province, and the old name for the area, Adelantamiento de Cazorla, tells you that it was ruled for a long time by the archbishops of Toledo as a military lordship.
The Cueva del Clarillo lies less than three kilometres from Quesada, in the dry limestone hills at the foot of the Sierra de Cazorla. Like its neighbours Las Covachicas and the shelters near Cerro de la Caldera, it carries prehistoric paintings, protected under the UNESCO listing of 1998, and the area is one of the southernmost for Levantine art. The idea that a frontier region should also hold some of the oldest human art is one of those coincidences of geography that make Spain such a rich country to travel in.
The roads are an unalloyed pleasure. From Úbeda and Baeza the A-315 climbs gently through olive plantations that fill every slope with grey-green order, and then the land begins to tilt upward and the first pines appear. Bends tighten as the road enters the foothills, and you can see Cazorla's cliff and castle from a distance. In winter, the high road over the sierra is sometimes closed by snow, and in July the temperature on the plain regularly passes forty degrees, so the best weeks are in spring and from mid-September.
Quesada, with about six thousand people, has fuel and a decent choice of bars and shops, and Cazorla, eleven kilometres away, is bigger and busier, with its cobbled streets, a Renaissance fountain and a castle above. In both you can eat well on a modest budget, with dishes based on olive oil, wild asparagus and game. Carry water for the walk to the shelter, and keep your helmet and jacket in the shade when you park.