Alquézar is the village everyone photographs in the Sierra de Guara, a cluster of golden-stone houses on a rocky spur above the Vero river, crowned by a collegiate church that began life as a castle. The Muslim rulers of Barbastro built a fortress here, and in the eleventh century, King Sancho Ramírez of Aragón captured it and turned it into a base for the reconquest of the plain below. The church that now stands on the site, with its Romanesque and later Gothic features, preserves some of the old walls, and the view from the terrace across the canyon is worth the climb.
The shelter at Viñamala I lies about four and a half kilometres from the village, in the same country, and carries painting of the Levantine tradition, protected by UNESCO as part of the rock art of the Mediterranean basin in Spain. Another painted site on the ride, the Cueva de los Moros, takes its name from the Moors, a label that Spanish folk memory often attaches to anything old and mysterious. The paintings are far older than any Moor, of course, by several thousand years.
Below the village, the Vero river runs through a spectacular canyon, with a path of wooden walkways bolted to the cliffs, which is a popular walk. Swimming pools in the gorge are cold and bright green, and in summer, canyoners and families fill them. The surrounding hills are grey with holm oak and scrub, and honey from the area, flavoured with rosemary and thyme, is sold in the village shops.
Riding to Alquézar from Barbastro is a pleasure, a road of easy curves through olive groves and low hills, then a few tighter bends as it approaches the canyon. Tarmac is good, but narrow, and weekend traffic of cars and cyclists can slow you. Aim to arrive early, to find parking and beat the crowds. In summer the heat is fierce.
Alquézar has about three hundred people and no reliable fuel, so tank up in Barbastro, about twenty kilometres away, which has a good range of shops and cafes. The village has several restaurants with terraces, where you can try the local lamb and the Somontano wines.