This is a thinly populated landscape of limestone plateaus, stone-walled terraces, holm oaks and old farmhouses, a world away from the beach resorts an hour to the east.
People lived here very early. The rock shelters of this region were painted by hunter-gatherers and early farmers several thousand years ago, with small, quick, lively figures of archers, goats and deer. They belong to the Levantine rock art tradition and were collectively recognised by UNESCO as the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula. Several sites in this corner of the Maestrat are open to visitors or lie on marked paths, but many shelters are fragile and access is restricted, so a local information point is a better guide than a guess.
The roads are the real draw. From Vilafranca the N-232 climbs north towards Morella, and the smaller CV roads towards Culla and Benassal wind through ravines and over cols with an easy, flowing rhythm, with the surface mostly good and the traffic almost nil. This is high ground, about a thousand metres in places, so it can be cold and windy. Snow dusts the plateau now and then in winter, and sudden storms roll in on summer afternoons. Wind turbines stand on the ridgelines, and on clear days the sea shows as a thin line far off.
Culla, up a hillside with a castle ruin that once belonged to the Templars, is a lovely small village and well worth a coffee. Vilafranca is the place to look for a bar and a pump, though it is wise to arrive with at least half a tank, since the towns here are small and Sunday opening is thin. Local food is hearty, with lamb, cured meats, truffles from the wooded valleys and cheese, and the region is also known for its olive oil. Spring brings green fields and flowers, autumn mushrooms and golden oak leaves, and both are better than the baking heat of August.