Walk 44 Lluc to Pollença
Walk 45 Mortitx and Rafal d’Ariant
Walk 46 Pollença and Puig de Maria
Walk 47 Serra del Cavall Bernat
Walk 48 Formentor and na Blanca
Walk 49 el Fumat and Cala Murta
Walk 50 Penya des Migdia and Talaia d’Alcúdia
Appendix A Glossary
Appendix B Public transport
Appendix C Useful contacts
ROUTE SUMMARY TABLE
There are splendid bird’s-eye views of Pollença on Walk 46
INTRODUCTION
Walkers descend carefully to the top of Cingles de Son Rul.lan (Walk 17)
Mallorca is the largest of the Balearic Islands, basking in sunny splendour in the Mediterranean between Spain and Algeria. It has been a favourite destination for sun-starved northern Europeans for many decades. While beach holidays remain popular, more and more visitors seek the quieter pleasures of rural Mallorca, especially taking opportunities to explore the island’s most rugged mountain range, the Serra de Tramuntana.
In the high mountains there is more shade among the evergreen oak and pines, with cooling breezes to temper the heat of the sun. Away from the bustling resorts the pace of life in the mountain villages is more sedate and relaxing. Almond and orange trees burst into blossom and vineyards yield heavy bunches of grapes. Kid goats bleat plaintively, often unseen among the undergrowth, while bongling bells alert shepherds to the location of their free-range sheep and cattle. Every so often, emerging from the forests, walkers discover the sun-scorched façades of palatial country mansions, wayside ermitas (hermitages) and little casetas (huts). In a sense, the visitor who is prepared to walk can forget everything they’ve ever heard about Mallorca, and start afresh by making new discoveries every day, around every corner.
As walking became more and more popular over the years and guidebooks proliferated in many languages, the island authorities began to purchase some extensive rural estates, protecting them from development and marking paths and tracks for walkers. In due course they turned their attention to the creation of long-distance walking routes, which are still gradually being pieced together.
Serra de Tramuntana
Looking towards Mallorca’s highest mountains from Puig d’Alaró (Walk 29)
Serra de Tramuntana translates as ‘Mountains of the North’, and they form an incredibly rugged range stretching all the way along the northern flank of Mallorca. The Paratge Natural de la Serra de Tramuntana, or Nature Area of the Serra de Tramuntana, was designated in 2007, covering an area of approximately 625 square kilometres (240 square miles). In 2011 it became a World Heritage Site, due to its importance as a cultural landscape. Although the mountains are predominantly limestone, the coastline often features a complex mix of rock types. Pine forests and extensive holm oak woodlands abound, with cultivated areas featuring olive groves, citrus groves and nut groves. Terraced slopes near the towns and villages produce abundant crops, while bare, rocky mountainsides are colonised by tough plants that form dense maquis, or patchy garigue formations. These rugged mountains form the backdrop for walking in Mallorca.
Around 90% of the Serra de Tramuntana is private property, and many regular walkers can tell tales about access problems. On the other hand, every few years extensive mountain estates come onto the market and some of these have been purchased and opened to the public. Some of the most notable acquisitions and recreational areas, from west to east, include: Finca Galatzó, Sa Coma d’en Vidal, Son Fortuny, Planícia, Son Moragues, Cúber, Binifaldó and Menut. There are plenty of places where walkers are welcome, or at least tolerated.
The provision of the long-distance GR221 allows walkers to trek all the way through the Serra de Tramuntana. Although many stretches of the GR221 are included in this book, they do not run consecutively, nor always in the same direction. For full details of the GR221, described in its entirety as a long-distance route, see Trekking in Mallorca by Paddy Dillon, published by Cicerone.
Brief history of Mallorca
Mallorca has been inhabited for more than 6000 years, when the earliest settlers lived in caves, hunted and kept animals, made stone tools and employed certain rituals when burying their dead. Around 4000 years ago, stone buildings and large towers, or talaiots, were constructed, suggesting highly organised societies working together for the common good, while clearly engaging in serious disputes with their neighbours.
The Carthaginians established trading posts and often recruited local people to defend them. Most of the ports on the island had their origins around this time. The Romans invaded Mallorca in 123BC, but much of their work was later destroyed by Vandals from North Africa. After the breakup of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine general Belisarius dealt with the Vandals, and the Balearic islands were linked with what is now Tunisia. As part of the Byzantine Empire, Mallorca again became a trading post protected by military might.
Arab raids commenced in AD707. Arab settlers profoundly influenced the development of agriculture. The legacy of these times is recalled in placenames – bini means ‘house of’, as in Binibassi and Biniaraix. In the city of Palma the Moorish arches of the Almudaina palace and the Arab baths can still be seen.
Pine trees are common in the mountains of Mallorca
In 1229 Jaume I of Aragon, ‘The Conqueror’, led a fleet of 150 ships and an army of 16,000 men to Mallorca. Their intention was to land at Port de Pollença, but they were prevented by storms so they sheltered in the lee of sa Dragonera and later landed at Santa Ponça. The re-conquest was completed in 1230, but this didn’t lead to peaceful times. Disputes between Jaume’s sons, passed on to their
