Viñamala is a name that sounds more dramatic than the quiet slope it marks, and the shelter catalogued as Viñamala II sits four and a half kilometres from Alquézar on a stony shoulder above the Vero. As in the rest of the valley, the numbering tells you that archaeologists found several shelters in the same area, a cluster that formed part of a prehistoric landscape, and that this one belongs to the Levantine rock art of the Mediterranean side of Spain, recognised by UNESCO in 1998.
The Sierra de Guara has a second life as one of the great canyoning destinations in Europe. Since the 1980s people have come from all over the continent to descend its ravines on ropes, jumping into pools and swimming through narrow slots, and villages like Rodellar, Bierge and Alquézar depend on them. For a rider the effect is simple: in summer the roads carry minibuses and vans with trailers full of wetsuits, mostly at the start and end of the day, and cafés open early. If you can, schedule your riding for the middle of the day, when the canyoners are underground and the roads are free.
The road itself rewards a careful rider. Beyond Alquézar the A-1232 continues deeper into the sierra, with sections where the carriageway narrows and the bends tighten to near hairpins. Sheer rock walls line one side and a steep drop the other, and there is little in the way of barriers, so lean smoothly and keep a margin. The road surface is patched but sound. In summer thunderstorms appear in the afternoon, and flash floods in the gorges are real, so if the sky over the sierra turns black, stay on the road and out of the gullies.
In Alquézar you will find coffee, simple meals and a handful of rooms for the night, and the pace of life is gentle outside the main season.