Calasparra is a rice town, which sounds odd until you see the terraces beside the Segura river, flooded and green in summer, with herons wading between the plants. The rice here has its own protected designation, and it is the base for paella in much of Spain. The river has carved a deep gorge, the Almadenes canyon, on its way through the hills, and in the rock above the water, hidden among limestone cliffs, there are shelters decorated with paintings made thousands of years ago. El Laberinto is one of them, part of the rock art tradition of the Mediterranean basin, listed by UNESCO.
The shelters are scattered across the hills around Calasparra and Moratalla, and they hold paintings in red and black: schematic figures, animals and abstract signs, some of them quite small. They are not signposted like a museum, and many are protected by fences or locked gates, so enquire in town before you go. Respect the signs and never touch the rock, because even a fingerprint can damage pigment that has lasted millennia.
Above the town stands the Sanctuary of the Virgen de la Esperanza, built on a rock ledge in the seventeenth century, and the pilgrimage that visits it each year is a major local event. Calasparra has fuel and good restaurants where rice is cooked in broth over a flame. Cieza, to the east, is famous for its peach blossom in February, and Abarán has vineyards and fruit orchards along the Segura.
The riding is a pleasure in spring and autumn. Roads follow the river through gorges and orange groves, and climb into dry, scrubby hills with pine and esparto grass, with the sun hot and the views long. Summer is brutally hot, with temperatures above forty degrees, and the shaded gorge is the only sensible place to be. Winter nights can be cold, and the sky is crystal clear. After dark, you can hear the frogs in the rice fields and smell the damp earth.