Fuensanta II is the sort of name only an archaeologist could love, a numbered rock shelter in the hills of northwest Murcia where prehistoric painters left a handful of figures on the stone. It is one of the hundreds of sites grouped under UNESCO's listing of rock art in the Mediterranean Basin of the Iberian Peninsula, and the Moratalla area is unusually rich in them. The paintings are small, faint to the untrained eye and protected, so the real value of coming is to understand the landscape that drew people here thousands of years ago: springs, shelter and game in rough, broken country.
The town of Moratalla, a little under twenty kilometres away, climbs a hillside under the ruins of its castle, with narrow streets that are better walked than ridden. Its municipality is huge and mostly mountain, covered in pine and holm oak, cut by river gorges and dotted with farmhouses. Nearby Caravaca de la Cruz is a place of pilgrimage built around the relic of a holy cross, and it has its own jubilee years that fill the town with visitors. Its old centre and hilltop sanctuary are worth a slow look.
The riding is excellent if you like quiet mountain roads. Routes west of Moratalla toward Nerpio and the Albacete border wind through the Sierra de Moratalla with constant bends, short climbs and few cars. The scenery shifts between dry red earth, almond and olive groves on the lower slopes and denser pine woods higher up. Expect some broken tarmac, gravel in corners and occasional livestock. The heat in July and August is brutal at midday, so ride in the morning and late afternoon; spring is green and full of flowers.
Moratalla, with about eight thousand inhabitants, is the place to stop for fuel and food; Caravaca, with over twenty-five thousand, has more choice. Once you head deeper into the mountains, services thin out quickly, so leave with a full tank. Try local rice dishes, lamb, and the area's sweet pastries, and on a hot day ask about the river pools around the Benamor and Alhárabe, which locals use to cool off.