Senda de la Cabra, the goat path, is the kind of name a mountain gives to the only way across a slope. It lies in the high country of the upper Segura, near Nerpio on the border of Albacete and Murcia provinces, where the Sierra de Segura folds into the Sierra de Alcaraz and the rivers run cold and clear. The painted shelters of the area, Gabar among them, are part of the large group of rock-art sites in the Nerpio district, which includes some of the best-known Levantine and schematic paintings in Spain.
The village of Nerpio itself is high enough, over a thousand metres, to keep its cold snaps into spring. Segura de la Sierra, to the north-west, is the better-known village, a medieval castle town on a crag with narrow streets and views over a huge sweep of olive-covered hills. Both are small, with fewer than two thousand people each, and neither has a reliable pump, so you must plan your fuel. Huéscar, with just over eight thousand people and about an hour away, is the safe bet, or Yeste for a smaller option.
The roads between them are among the most rewarding in this part of Spain, and among the loneliest. They climb through Aleppo pine and black pine forest, cross bare ridges and drop into river valleys where the water runs under old stone bridges. Corners are open and fast in places, then tighten suddenly at a village or a river crossing. The tarmac is usually fine on the main routes but deteriorates on side roads, so a rider should treat each bend with respect.
Wildlife is a bonus. Mouflon, red deer and wild boar live in the forests, and golden eagles hunt over the ridges. In autumn the oak and poplar turn colour in the valley bottoms, and in spring the lower slopes are a carpet of flowers. Winter brings snow and ice at this height, and the roads can close with little warning.
To visit the shelters, enquire in Nerpio first. Access is controlled, and the walk from the road is rough in places.