The Serra de Mariola is a mountain of herbs. Its slopes smell of thyme, rosemary, sage and a score of other aromatic plants that people have gathered for centuries to make teas, liqueurs and remedies, and the natural park that protects it has become a favourite of walkers who like to crush a leaf between their fingers. L'Esmoladora lies a little way east of that range, in the hills between Planes and Beniarrés, a country of terraced slopes and small reservoirs that spreads out towards the plain of Alcoi.
Planes is a very small village with the ruins of a Muslim castle on a rock above it, and Benimarfull, a few kilometres away, is smaller still. Beniarrés has a reservoir on the river Serpis, created in the twentieth century by a dam, and the water turns the whole valley a green that is rare in this dry region. The three villages together give you a pleasing circuit, with narrow roads, little traffic and farms hidden among almond and olive trees.
Riding is the main attraction. Corners are tight but short, the surface is generally decent, and the views change at every bend, from olive groves to pine woods to the pale cliff of the Mariola. In the afternoon, you may meet cyclists. Spring brings flowers and the sound of water, autumn a hush and golden light. In summer, the shade is a gift, and in winter the high ground can be cold and misty.
Fuel can be bought at Muro d'Alcoi, with about eight thousand people, twelve kilometres away, and Alcoi, a bit further, is a bigger industrial town famous for its Moors and Christians festival in April, when the streets fill with parades, mock battles and gunpowder. Cocentaina is close as well. The shelter is part of a family of painted sites around the Serpis valley, and the paintings are small. Take water, and do not be tempted to touch.