The little town of Huéscar, thirty-eight kilometres from this spot over the border in the province of Granada, has a story that Spaniards tell with a grin. According to a local legend, in 1809, during the Napoleonic wars, the town council declared war on Denmark, mistakenly thinking that Denmark was an ally of Napoleon, and forgot to declare peace. The war, so the story goes, lasted for a hundred and seventy-two years, until a peace treaty was symbolically signed in 1981 by the mayor and the Danish ambassador. Historians doubt the details, but the town celebrates it anyway.
Zona 8 is in a different spirit altogether. It lies seven kilometres from Nerpio, in the high dry valley that is home to the numbered rock-art zones, and it forms part of the Mediterranean rock art listed by UNESCO in 1998. The paintings in the Nerpio basin include some striking figures, including stylised human forms with raised arms, as well as deer, goats and abstract signs. Zones 4, 5, 6 and 9 are all nearby, and a walker who has the time can compare their styles.
The road from Nerpio toward Huéscar crosses a bare, rolling plateau with a few farms and the occasional shepherd. It is a big-sky kind of ride, with long views, gentle bends and a feeling of space that is rare in Western Europe. In late afternoon the shadows lengthen and the hills turn violet. The surface is generally good, with a few patched sections, and you may go an hour without seeing another vehicle. Snow can close the road in winter, and fog sometimes lingers in the hollows.
Fuel is the obvious thing to arrange in advance. Huéscar has several stations, a sizeable market and a good variety of bars, and is the place to stock up before returning to the sierra. In Nerpio you can expect a modest meal of lamb, beans and bread. Carry water, because the shelter walk is exposed, and make a note of your route, because mobile signal is patchy.