Moratalla stands at the north-west corner of Murcia like a lookout post, and the highlands behind it feel far from the coast. The town is crowned by a medieval castle and its streets run down a steep hillside, and the municipality covers a huge area of pine forest, ravines and rock shelters, many of them holding prehistoric paintings that now sit on the World Heritage list. The Molino de Capel, a watermill name from a rural spot in the hills near the Albacete border, belongs to that scattered countryside, where old farms, mills and caves sit in a landscape of rosemary, thyme and holm oak.
The riding here is a reward for those who like to wander. The roads leave Moratalla and climb into the sierras in a series of curves, past dry stone terraces and almond groves, with long views over the Segura basin. The surface varies, and some minor roads are narrow with few barriers, so keep your speed measured. In summer the heat is dry and strong, and in winter nights can drop below freezing. Late April to June and September to October are the best months, when the hills smell of herbs and the sky is clear.
Moratalla, with about eight and a half thousand people, is the town for fuel, a shop and a meal, about fourteen kilometres from the site. Socovos, across the border in Albacete, is much smaller but has a castle on a crag that is worth a look. Local food is hearty, with lamb and game, rice dishes and thick stews, and mountain honey is a regional pride.
A word on the shelters themselves. Many are fenced, some are open, and all are fragile, so approach quietly and do not touch the painted surfaces. The figures, mostly small hunters, animals and strange stick-limbed people, were made thousands of years ago by those who shared this valley. There is something humbling about standing in the same shade they sought.