The Valltorta is the name that matters in this corner of Castellón, and everything about this shelter makes more sense once you know why. The Barranc de la Valltorta, a deep, narrow gorge cut through the limestone of the Alt Maestrat, holds one of the great concentrations of Levantine rock art, including scenes of hunting and fighting that were among the first to make archaeologists understand that these paintings tell stories. A small museum in nearby Tírig explains the gorge and its art, and it is a sensible starting point before you set out.
Mas d'en Salvador lies a few kilometres from Albocàsser, a village of fewer than fifteen hundred people on a plateau of olive and almond fields. The name Cova de Gargán sits on the region label here, and it tells you how many shelters crowd this landscape. The painted figures are tiny, red and sometimes so faded that you need a guide or a good photograph to make them out. What they show is people hunting deer and wild goats with bows, a world of movement drawn by someone who loved to watch it.
The Alt Maestrat is a landscape of stone: dry-stone walls, stone farmhouses, and peaks that rise toward Penyagolosa further inland. The people here live by olive oil, almonds and sheep, and the best thing to eat in the local bars is something simple like grilled lamb, cured sausage or a plate of local cheese with bread.
The riding is wonderful if you like quiet. Roads leave the coastal plain at Alcalà de Xivert and climb into the Maestrat with long, sinuous stretches over open country, little traffic, and views to the Mediterranean on a clear day. Corners are medium in speed, the road surface is generally good, and there are many places to pull over. The best light comes in the morning, when the hills turn gold and the air is cool.
For fuel, the nearest larger town is Alcalà de Xivert, a long way off, so fill up on the coast before climbing. Albocàsser has a bar or two for a coffee and a bocadillo, and that is about it. Carry water.