Gorham's Cave is a hollow in the east face of the Rock of Gibraltar, opening toward the sea on the far side from the town, and it is one of the last known refuges of the Neanderthals. They lived in these caves for many thousands of years, hunting ibex and rabbit and gathering shellfish on the shore, and excavations have found hearths, tools, and even bird bones that show cut marks, along with a cross-hatched engraving in the rock that some researchers think was made deliberately. Dates suggest Neanderthals may have survived here later than anywhere else in Europe, perhaps until around 40,000 years ago or later, though the exact timing is debated. The cave complex is protected as a UNESCO site, and the cave itself is closed to casual visitors.
It is not a place you ride to so much as a landscape you look at. The Rock stands at the southwest tip of Europe, a huge limestone mass rising to over 400 metres, and the road around its southern end passes Europa Point, where the lighthouse looks across the Strait of Gibraltar toward Morocco. On clear days you can see the mountains of the Rif, only a few kilometres away. The eastern side, where the caves are, is steep and mostly inaccessible from land.
Gibraltar is small and has its own rules. Crossing from Spain, you pass border control and then cross the airport runway on Winston Churchill Avenue, which closes when planes land. Motorcyclists tend to slip through the queues of cars, and the town is easy to cross. Fuel is cheaper than in Spain, so riders often fill up here. The roads are narrow, steep and busy, with a one-way system and limited parking. Upper Rock Nature Reserve is home to the Barbary macaques, free-roaming monkeys that will steal anything in a bag, and they are a real hazard at the viewpoints. Do not feed them.
The nearest big town is La Linea, on the Spanish side, with every service. The best time to visit is spring or autumn, when the heat is bearable. In summer, the levanter wind can bring a cloud that sits over the Rock, and it is a curious sight. Fog is rare, but the air is often humid.