This is the country of toys and herbs, an unusual pairing. Onil and Ibi, in the inland hills of Alicante, grew up as centres of toy-making, starting with tin and later plastic, and the local museum in Ibi tells how a mountain valley became a world supplier of dolls and games. On the other side, the Sierra de Mariola, a natural park rich in aromatic plants, supplies the herbs for a local liqueur and for traditional remedies. Bocairent, a handsome old town on a rocky spur, has houses built right at the edge of a gorge and a set of man-made caves carved into the cliff, the Covetes dels Moros.
It belongs to the broad region of Levantine and related rock art in eastern Spain, much of it listed by UNESCO. The hills around are limestone, with pine woods, scrub and terraces, and the colour of the rock, which can turn red in the evening, explains many of the local names. In early spring the almond blossom and wild flowers on the slopes are lovely.
The riding is a pleasure. Roads wind from the plain of Ibi and Onil up into the Mariola, with bends, short climbs and a few switchbacks, and the surfaces are generally good. The mountain roads are popular with cyclists at weekends, so keep your line, and watch for gravel in the corners. Summer is hot, but the mountain air is cooler, and autumn, with mist in the valleys and golden vines, is often the best season. Winter can bring frost and occasional snow on the higher ridges.
Onil and Ibi have fuel stations, supermarkets and cafés, and Bocairent has a handful of bars and restaurants in its old centre. On the twenty-eighth of December Ibi holds a famous festival, Els Enfarinats, in which people dressed as a mock army throw flour and eggs in a sort of playful coup. Try a plate of olleta, a thick stew of beans, rice and vegetables, and a small glass of herbal liqueur, if you are not riding.