People in Aragón like to call the Matarraña their Tuscany, and for once the comparison is not entirely marketing. It is a comarca of honey-coloured stone villages on hilltops, olive groves on terraces, almond trees and vineyards, with the limestone wall of the Ports de Beseit rising behind. La Fenellosa lies in this country, between Valderrobres, Fuentespalda and Mas de Barberans across the Catalan line, in the rough hills where the farmland gives way to the mountains.
The Matarraña has a notable concentration of rock art. Painted shelters with Levantine figures are scattered through the ravines of the river and its tributaries, and the comarca has done more than many to make them visible, with signposted paths and an interpretation network. Calaceite, to the north, adds another layer: the Iberian hill town of San Antonio, an excavated settlement with streets, houses and a cistern, which shows how people lived here two and a half thousand years ago. La Fenellosa itself is a quiet shelter in that long sequence, protected and best appreciated with patience.
Beceite, the village closest to the mountains, is the gateway to the Parrizal, a narrow gorge of the Matarraña river where a walkway lets you follow the water between sheer walls, sometimes barely a few metres apart. It is a popular walk, so in summer go early. The upper river has deep green pools, and people swim in them on hot days.
The roads here invite a slow ride. The A-231 and the smaller roads linking Valderrobres, Beceite, Fuentespalda, Peñarroya de Tastavins and Monroyo wind over hills with a steady stream of bends and constant views of the Ports. Peñarroya leads up toward the sanctuary of the Virgen de la Fuente, a lovely spot in the mountains. Surfaces are mostly decent, traffic sparse, but some routes are narrow, and the comarca is popular with cyclists.
Valderrobres has fuel and a range of restaurants; Tortosa is the nearest big town, about twenty-seven kilometres away. Matarraña olive oil is outstanding, and the local ham and cured meats are well worth tasting. Spring and autumn are best, when the hills are green and the light is soft.