There are places in Spain that sound like names from a fairy tale, and Villar del Humo is one of them, the Village of Smoke. It is a hamlet of about three hundred and fifty people in the Serranía of Cuenca, where the pine forest begins to thicken and the Cabriel river carves gorges through the limestone. Marmalo is the name of the ravine nearby, and its painted shelters are among the major Levantine sites of inland Spain, listed with the UNESCO group of 1998.
Why is there so much rock art in a region so far from the sea? The answer, as far as anyone can say, is that the gorges of the Cabriel offered shelter, water and game, and prehistoric hunters probably followed the river as a corridor between the high plateau and the coast. The Marmalo shelters, with their groups of red figures, are within a short walk of the road, and the paintings have been well studied. The work of conservation is ongoing, so look for signs and observe any restrictions.
Villar del Humo itself is the base. It has a few bars, a small shop and a handful of houses whose tiled roofs and wooden balconies speak of old mountain life. The region is sparsely populated, and the sense of space is part of the pleasure. Pines, junipers and the odd holm oak cover the hills, and in the evening the smell of resin and thyme drifts through the open window of a parked bike.
The riding is a good, honest mix. Roads connecting these villages are narrow, with tight corners in the gorges and long rolling sections on the plateau. Surfaces are patchy in places, and some gravel is common near the edges. Weather matters here, since winter can be bitterly cold, with snow on the heights, while summer afternoons are hot. Late spring and early autumn are the most reliable seasons.
Supplies need planning. There is no large town nearby, and the nearest big centres, Cuenca and Requena, are some way off. Fill up before you leave the main road, carry water, and bring something to eat.