It is one of several in the Prado del Tornero group, with neighbours II and others in the same area, and it forms part of the exceptional collection of rock art around the village, covered by the UNESCO listing of 1998. For once the walk from bike to shelter is short, which is a kindness in this hard country.
There is a hidden thread that links this remote village to the coast. The Taibilla, the stream that rises in the mountains above Nerpio, has been dammed and piped since the early twentieth century to supply water to Murcia, Alicante and Cartagena, and a public body called the Mancomunidad de los Canales del Taibilla has run the system for decades. The cool snows of the high Sierra thus end up as tap water in towns on the hot Mediterranean plain. It is a good reminder that the sparsely settled interior carries the weight of the crowded coast.
The ride to Nerpio is the real event. Approaching from Yeste, the road crosses a high plateau of pine, juniper and dry meadow, then descends gently to a broad basin ringed by hills. The surface is decent and the bends are generous, which makes for a relaxed rhythm. The only sounds are the engine and the wind, and once in a while a lorry carrying timber. Cold is a factor from late October onward. Fresh snow is possible through March, and in the village you will see woodpiles stacked against many walls.
The village has about sixteen hundred inhabitants, so you can expect bars, a bakery and a basic shop, which makes it a useful base. Fuel is less certain, and the safer places are Yeste, twenty-four kilometres away, and Huéscar to the south-east. A good meal in Nerpio might include game stew, local lamb or a plate of the chickpea and spinach dishes that come out in Lent. Carry water, and use the village as your starting point for walking, because the shelters are best visited on foot.