A map of the Serranía de Cuenca looks like a crumpled green blanket, and the best way to understand it is to ride across it. Marmalo, the painted ravine near Villar del Humo, is in the south of this region, where the pines open into fields and the drainage heads toward the Cabriel river. This is the third shelter in the group, and a good excuse to plan a whole day around the surrounding country.
Start in Cuenca or Requena, fill the tank and set out early. From Cuenca the road runs south-east across a high, empty plateau of cereal, juniper and pine, at heights around a thousand metres. The bends are slow and wide, the views are big, and the traffic is so light that you may go half an hour without meeting a car. Wind is common on the open stretches, and in winter this country can be bitterly cold, with frost on the tarmac at dawn. Summer afternoons are hot and dry, and a hat and water are essential if you walk.
The shelters themselves are small, and the paintings are small too. They show human figures, with the slim, elongated bodies that mark the Levantine style, and animals, mostly deer and wild goats, in red pigment that has faded to a rusty brown in places. They are among the pieces of inland Spain's rock art that UNESCO recognised in 1998, and local authorities have put up signs and protective fencing at many of them. Please follow the instructions on the boards.
Villar del Humo is a village of three hundred and fifty people, and it is the place for a coffee and a bocadillo. There are few other services in the immediate area, and the nearest big towns, Cuenca and Requena, lie well over forty kilometres away. A full tank on leaving them is the sensible approach.
Late afternoon is lovely here. The sun drops behind the pines, the air smells of resin and warm stone, and the quiet is almost total. If you are staying nearby, it is a good time to sit still.