THE evening sun was bathing the mountains in a rosy glow as I headed into the back country of La Rioja, which features some of Europe’s wildest reaches.

The sky was a clear powder blue until suddenly two dark shapes appeared arcing overhead. The protruding wing tip feathers seemed to confirm that they were eagles.

The birds swung back and forth along the valley in search of supper. Further down the road approaching the resort town of Arnedillo, they were circling a mountain top — all 18 of them — like a build-up of Second World War bombers over East Anglia. Just one thing, they were not eagles but vultures. These vast, ugly, rapacious birds share the mountains with the magnificient eagle and a variety of other species.

The vultures give an almost primitive, pre-historic feel to the region, which is belied by the modern spa baths in the town below. The Arnedillo Spa hotel where I stayed was originally built in the early part of the last century and offered everything from jacuzzis to induced wave swimming and treatment waters.

For me the most attractive part of the Rioja mountain country is through the Sierra de Cameros Viejo, which can be reached via the N111 road from Logrono. This, like the majority of the roads in the region, is an excellent two-lane road but one that has to be treated with respect because of the occasional sharp bend and a fair amount of lorry traffic.

This section of my Rioja journey helped me to understand the comments of a young Spanish friend in Logrono who told me: “The quality of the people here is fantastic. It’s like a ghetto from the rest of Spain. Here they are more welcoming, more Spanish. It’s very much like a cultural reserve where people still have the ideas and the way of life of years gone by.”

In its wilder spots the area looks like parts of Arizona. Deer and wild boar abound along with a breed of shaggy horses. The area has a huge range of activities with six walks available including one that is a section of European walk GR93.

A little over half an hour out of Logrono it is worth branching off the main road into the Sierra Cebollera National Park, which is bright with colour during the spring and summer.

The highest point in the park is La Mesa at 2,164m. The road up to the peak is of vari-able quality and four-wheel-drive vehicles are advisable, especially if it is early in the year when snow and ice remain on the high sierra roads.

A drive up the peak road will be rewarded by the sight of the hermits’ chapels of Lomos de Orios and the Virgin de la Luz some way below the peak but high enough to be impresive for the isolation and the struggle that must have taken place to build them.

La Rioja has six areas that are in the European Areas of Special Protection of Birds. The region harbours such protected species as the short-toed and golden eagles, hen harrier, honey buzzard, booted eagle, eagle owl and partridge, some of which can be seen in this area. The Alfaro National Park, meanwhile, is a haven for nesting herons.

The drive in the Cameros leads through a string of beautiful little mountain towns perched on the edge of steep valleys along the rivers Iregua and Leza. The chocolate box town of Laguna de Cameros, looking like a Swiss ski resort, is well worth a stop.

Musts for La Rioja

Visit Dinastia Vivanco bodega near Briones to discover things you never knew about wine and its history and fabulous views across the vineyards

Stay in the parador at Santo Domingo de la Calzada in the shadow of the cathedral on the St James Way. The parador is a former hospital

See the cock and hen in their ornate cage in the part-Gothic Santo Domingo cathedral as a tribute to the saint’s life-giving powers. The parents of a hanged thief found him alive on the gallows. When told, the judge said: “Nonsense, he’s no more alive than this roast chicken on my plate”

Experience Spain’s “mini Grand Canyon” in the Leza gorges

Stroll Logrono’s Calle Laurel for leisurely tapas and drinks, moving from one bar to the next sampling their wares in true Spanish fashion

Watch the vultures up close in the observatory at Arnedillo

Tread in the footsteps of the dinosaurs at the Palaeontology Centre in the village of Enciso

Examine the region’s Celtic tradition at the Centro de Interpretación de Contrebia Leukade at Aguilar del Rio Alhama

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