Vélez-Blanco is a white village below a castle, and the hills around it hold some of the most celebrated prehistoric paintings in south-eastern Spain. Hoyos I is one of the painted shelters in the district, which sits in the Sierra María-Los Vélez, a natural park of limestone peaks on the northern edge of Almería province. The nearby Cueva de los Letreros is famous as the source of the Indalo, the little stick figure with an arc above its head that has become the symbol of Almería and appears on car stickers all over Spain. The shelter here belongs to the same tradition of painted art.
The castle in Vélez-Blanco is a Renaissance showpiece, built in the early sixteenth century for the Marquis of Los Vélez. Its marble courtyard was sold in the early twentieth century and is now installed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, a story locals tell with a mixture of pride and irritation. The empty rooms at the castle are still worth a visit, and the views over the plain are wide.
Vélez-Rubio, a few kilometres down the valley, is the larger town, with seven thousand people and a baroque church of remarkable size for such a small place. It is the place to find fuel, a pharmacy and a long lunch. The roads here run through open country of almond and cereal, with the Sierra María rising to the west. The bends are gentle and the surface is mostly good, and traffic is light.
Climb into the sierra and the scene changes. Pine and cedar forests cover the slopes, and the road twists up in tight bends to viewpoints with long views over the dry plain. In winter the high ground can see snow, and in summer the plain is hot and dry. Late spring and early autumn are the best times for a ride.
Walking to the shelters is a matter of arranging a visit locally, since the sites are protected. Take water and a hat, as shade is scarce.