Moratalla is the kind of hill town that looks as though it was poured down a slope: white houses tumbling below a castle tower, narrow lanes too steep for comfort, church bells echoing off the hills. Ten kilometres out, in the rugged country of north-west Murcia, the shelter of Las Cazuelas holds prehistoric paintings, part of the region's contribution to the UNESCO-listed Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin. The paintings are fragile and protected, and access is usually by guided visit, arranged in Moratalla or through the regional authorities.
The landscape is a striking mix of irrigated valleys, almond and olive groves, pine forest and bare limestone ridges, rising toward the Sierra de Moratalla and the Sierra del Segura. In spring, the almond blossom and the green of the young wheat make a soft contrast to the grey rock, and in summer the hills are baked gold and the air smells of thyme and pine resin.
Caravaca de la Cruz, thirteen kilometres away, is one of the five holy cities of Christianity, recognised by the Vatican, because of a relic of the True Cross kept in its basilica-fortress. Every few years, Caravaca celebrates a holy year that draws pilgrims from all over Spain, and every May, the Caballos del Vino festival sees teams racing richly decorated horses up the hill to the castle. Cehegín, nearby, has a well-preserved old town of steep lanes and noble houses, built on the site of an older Iberian and Roman settlement, and it is far less visited than it deserves.
Riding around Moratalla is about tight, twisting roads with almost no traffic, climbing into the mountains toward Nerpio, El Sabinar and the Sierra del Segura. Surfaces are generally good but can be rough in places, and gravel on bends is common after rain. Moratalla has fuel, shops and bars, and Caravaca has more choice. Try the local migas, lamb, and wine from the nearby Bullas region, made largely from the dark Monastrell grape that thrives in this hot, dry country.