Alquézar has about three hundred inhabitants, and in many ways it is the best place to understand the valley, because it is a village where people still live, and not only a place to visit. In the morning, the baker's van comes through, old men sit on the benches of the square and the cats occupy the church steps. By midday the day visitors arrive, and by evening they have gone.
The village is stacked up a rock above the Vero, with its collegiate church at the top, in a tangle of stone houses, arches and stairways. The collegiate church holds a Romanesque cloister with carved capitals and a long terrace over the river. The best way to see it is to walk slowly, take a coffee in the arcaded square and then follow the walkways along the cliff above the gorge, which are well made and easy to follow.
Farming still shapes the surroundings. Almonds, olives and some vines grow on the terraces, and the old stone barns and drystone walls are part of a pattern that has hardly changed. In late winter the almond blossom turns the hills white, and in early summer the hay is cut and the fields smell sweet. Griffon vultures soar over the cliffs, and the evening light turns the walls of the gorge to copper.
Getting here by bike is a pleasure. The road from Barbastro, some twenty kilometres of gentle bends along the river, is a good introduction, and the lanes beyond are narrower and more demanding. The surface is mostly sound, with some gravel, and the traffic is modest except on summer weekends. Fuel is a matter for Barbastro, as the village has none that you can rely on, and groceries and a good lunch are also easier there.
Stay the night in the village if you can. The place changes completely after the day visitors leave, and the stars over the gorge are unforgettable.