The Vélez comarca in northern Almería sits high and dry, a land of almond trees, steppe and pale limestone ranges that feels more like the Castilian interior than the beach resorts of the south coast. Lázar lies in this country, near the villages of María and Vélez-Blanco, within the Sierra María-Los Vélez natural park. The area is known for some of the most important prehistoric art in Andalusia, and the best-known symbol is the Indalo, a little stick figure holding an arc above its head, taken from a painting in the cave of Los Letreros near Vélez-Blanco and adopted as the emblem of the whole province.
The riding is quiet and surprisingly elevated. The roads climb steadily from the plains toward the sierra, passing almond orchards that bloom white in February, then pine woods and bare limestone crags. Bends are open and well graded, and the tarmac is mostly sound, although the winters at this altitude can bring frost and even snow, a surprise for anyone expecting Almería sunshine. Summer is hot, but the nights are cool, and spring and autumn are lovely, with clear light and long views.
Vélez-Blanco has about two thousand people and a spectacular castle, built in the sixteenth century in the Renaissance style, whose marble courtyard was dismantled in the early twentieth century and sold abroad. It now stands in the Metropolitan Museum in New York, which is a sad story but a good one for the dinner table. For fuel, Vélez-Rubio, about eleven kilometres away, is the larger town and the dependable choice, so top up there before heading into the sierra.
If you want a break, the village of María offers a quiet square and a bakery, and the botanical garden near the natural park centre makes a good stop on a warm day. Bring water, because the countryside is dry and shade is scarce, and listen for the calls of the choughs that nest in the cliffs. The silence out here is deep, broken only by wind and the occasional tractor.