WORTH KNOWING

links other services guided hikes links other services guided hikes geführte Wanderungen Wanderkarten weitere Angebote Links

 

VISIT ALSO

www.gr221.info

(footpaths and more)

www.torrentdepareis.info

(the most beautiful hike)

www.valldesoller.info

 

 

GUIDED HIKES

Information>>>

 

 

 

The Puig Major, our highest mountain


 
The Majorcan mountain club GEM


 
The dry stone builders


→ The cabins of IBANAT


 
The mountain- rescue service


 
The great storm of november 2001


 
Rock climbing


 
Canyoning

 

► The Puig Major, our highest mountain

The Puig Major is 1.437 m (4660 feet) meter high. It´s a pity for the mountaineers that the summit has been closed since 1958 when the americans built a radar station there. It controls the western Mediterranean as well as northern Africa.

-          In 1932 a company planned a cable car to the top of Puig Major and one platform was already built at the bottom (you can see it beside the road to Sa Calobra, shortly before the pass). The project was abandoned because of the high costs: 2 million pesetas (some € 12,000). 

The mountain has two summits: the prohibited one and the one you can see from the Sóller valley, the Penya des Migdia ("Nooncliff " 1,398 meter). You can climb it but you aren´t allowed to walk on the military road to the prohibited summit. One possibility is the old snowcolectors path which starts at Km. 37.8 of the road from Sóller to Lluc (300 meter before crossing the tunnel). You walk beside the snowholes and at the end of the steep valley you will find the military road. Then you must climb steeply to the left (no path) and shortly before the summit you have to scramble a bit. For the way down you can follow the ridge to the south and then the scree slopes to the northwest. There isn´t a path here and you have to find a key passage (marked with cairns) at the end of the scree slope. After a very stony and overgrown slope you reach the unpaved road to Binis. If you turn left you arrive at the tarmac road not far from the place where you started the hike. Only the Majorcan hiking experts can lead you there safely.

  ► The Majorcan mountain club GEM  (+ Information ►)  ☻The "Grup Excursionista de Mallorca" (GEM) is the most important mountain club on Mallorca with some 500 associates. The address is: Carrer dels Horts,1- baixos / E-07003- Palma de Mallorca/ Tel. [0034] 971.718.823 / E-mail: secretaria @ gemweb.org / http:// www.gemweb.org. ☻The mountain club organises hikes of varying difficulty, canyoning, conferences. Once a year there is a collective action to clear an overgrown path.

Trails cleared by G.E.M. :

-        1997: The path from Bàlitx to Coll de Biniamar (one section of the path from Mirador de Ses Barques to Cala Tuent) -         1998: The fishermen´s path from Esporles to Port des Canonge -         1999: The old path from Estellencs to Banyalbufar -        2000: Differents paths from Sóller to Mirador de Ses Barques (Costa d´en Flassada, Costa d´en Nicó) -         2001: The old path from Estellencs to Puigpunyent -         2002: The path from Fornalutx to Coma de Son Torrella across the  "Portell de Sa Costa"

-         2003: The path "Camí des Puig" (Puig de Son Talent- Manacor)

-          2004: The cleaning of Torrent de Pareis. The security was also improved

  -       2005: 70 voluntary people cleaned the path to the old well "Pou de Binifat" on the 20. february.             -      2006: the old path between Alaró and Orient          -       2007: 140 voluntary people cleaned a section of the old path from Alcúdia to Lluc

          -      2008: old path from Alaró to Binissalem

       

► The dry stone builders  (+ Information►)

 

FODESMA was started to keep alive some traditional crafts: restoration of windmills (Escola de Molins), building Majorcan fishing boats (Escola de Mestres d´Aixa) and building dry stone walls (Escola de Margers)

 

The dry stone wall building college has been in existence since 1986 : young people has been learning over the course of two years the traditional method of stone- building and practise it on the mountain paths. They paved the old tracks with stones and they rebuilt the walls of the terraces. The hiking path across Mallorca (GR-221) is also called the path of the dry stone (Ruta de Pedra en Sec).

 

Fodesma also worked on renovating old buildings (military stations, farms, monasteries) and turning them into mountain huts: "Tossals Verds", Muleta", "Can Boi"  and "Son Amer".  Since 2004 the Department of Nature and Environment of the Mallorca Council has taken the functions from FODESMA.

 

Many trails have been renovated by them:

-        Castell d´Alaró -         The pilgrims´path from Caimari to the monastery of Lluc -         Barranc de Biniaraix -         Puig de Maria, near Pollença -         From Sa Granja to Esporles -         Two paths from Deià to Cala Deià -         The path from Deià to Sóller "Camí de Castelló"-         The GR 221 section  "Camí de ses Voltes des Galileu" between Tossals Verds and Lluc

-      Other overgrown paths have been cleared: Sa Costera, Camí des Correu (Esporles- Banyalbufar), Pas des Cossis (Galatzó), many paths around Sóller and in the "Península de Llevant" Nature Park .

 

→ The cabins of the Govern Balear

 

They are on public lands near dirt tracks but not of great use for hikers. They are more for groups of friends which  hire the whole cabin. (IBANAT - the environment organisation of the Balearic Government is responsible for its use) 

 

The cabins are: near the barrage of Cúber ( 6 places) and Gorg Blau (8 P.), in Son Moragues- Teix- Valldemossa (15 P.), Comuna de Caimari (8 P., on the old trail from Inca to Luc), Coma de Binifaldó (2 P.), Lavanor (10 P., near Mortitx), Son Real (8 P., near Can Picafort), in the Nature Park Mondragó and in Coll Baix (near Alcúdia). 

 

WE HAVEN'T GOT THE NEW PRICES: The price (2015) is  4 € per person, but you should pay for the full cabin, even if you are alone.

 

The cabin in Binifaldó costs 180 € (30 places)

 

La Caseta des Oguers in Nature Park LLevant (10 P.) costs 160 €.

 

Only in the cabins in N. P. Llevant: S'Arenalet d'Albarca (by the sea) and  S'Alzina (near the Finca Albarca) could you hire a double room (30 € ) or a room for 4- people (40 €)

 

For reservations: ONLINE. For staying there in january and february, you can book from the 1st. of december on/ for march and april, from the 1st. of february and so on.

                                                      - Refugi de S'Arenalet d'Albarca-

           

                - Refugi de Son Real-                                               - Refugi de la Comuna de Caimari-

 

► The mountain- rescue service  

-The rescuers of Bombers de Sóller between Llucalcari and Cala Deià-

Until 1995 only a voluntary service was called into action as needed.

Nowadays they are two professional teams: one from the fireservice (Bombers del Consell de Mallorca) and another from the rural police (Guardia Civil-G.R.E.I.M.). The phone numbers are: "112" und "062". When needed ,a helicopter takes part in the rescue operation. Up to the present the service is free of charge.

-          In 2001 , 6 people died in the Majorcan mountains (4 Spaniards, 2 tourists), 4 were severely wounded (1 from Germany, 1 from the U.K., 1 from Norway and 1 from Spain) and 9 suffered slight injuries.  -         33 hikers lost their way and were brought to safety by 11 rescue parties. 12 accidents occurred in canyons.

-          In the first three months of 2002 the rescue operations increased by 160 % in relation to 2001!

 

► The great storm of november 2001

The two pictures were made on the way to Penya Roja (Alcúdia). In the picture on the right picture it´s possible to appreciate that a large area of forest was lost in the great storm of November 2001.

 

 

      The strong winds (120 km) and the heavy rainfall (300 litres in 24 hours) destroyed many forests: 300.000 pine trees were felled. The worst affected areas are in Cap Pinar (near Alcúdia), in Lluc Alcari (near Deià), Son Fortuny (Galatzó- Estellencs) and S´Alqueria (S´Esclop- Andratx). The foresters have been working very hard to clear several hiking trails, sometimes they had to walk for one hour to reach their workplace up on the mountain!

 

We will always see some fallen trees. In January 2003 it was a small storm and in February a heavy snowfall broke many branches in the following areas: Pollença, Lluc, Tomir, Massanella. An strong tornado destroyed many trees around Valldemossa and its Port on summer 2004. On october 2008, a new storm has affected some trails in Deià and Banyalbufar.

The winter 2008- 2009 has changed again the look of our footpaths and mountains (Puig d'Alcadena)

 

Rock climbing (More Information in catalan>>>)

Castell d´Alaró, there are 30 climbing routes in the overshadowed cliff .

 *    They are many climbing areas: Castell d´Alaró, Port de Valldemossa (the wall is 15 to 30 m high, 8 routes from 4b to 5c), S´Estret de Valldemossa, Sa Gúbia (near Bunyola, 20 routes, wall 20 to 200 m), Cala Bóquer (near Port de Pollença, 7 routes,10 to 100 m), Torrent de Pareis (S´Entreforc- Escorca, 10 to 200 m), Cala Santanyí (5 routes, 10 to 20 m), Cala Magraner, Gorg Blau (6b to 8b+), Andratx (4+ to 8), Sa Jonquera near Artà (6 to 8b), Es Fumat (Cape Formentor, 6 to 7c+), Port de Sóller (4 routes, 10 to 25 m), Puig Major. The climbing wall near Calvià is closed (you have to cross a private property to reach it)

* For more information: James, Alan & Glaister, Alan: "Mallorca Rockfax 2020 (ISBN 1-8733-4161-2). In english

 

► Canyoning

* Mallorca is made of limestone, that´s why they are plenty of caves, chasms (the deepest one is "Sa Cova de Sa Campana" ,319 Meter deep) and canyons. Here are the most important:

         *Torrent de Pareis,  our most famous canyon. It´s a difficult and strenuous hike, where you need a rope for your safety, but you could manage it without. For more information

        *Torrent de Mortitx, between Lluc and Pollença. The upper part ist a hike with some places where you need your hands. But for the last section you need technical equipment and canyoning knowledge. A big problem is returning when you reach the mouth of the canyon. You could either swim  to the next cove (only if the sea is calm, it takes 30 minutes) or take the difficult  "via ferrata" on the cliff.

           *Torrent des Gorg des Diners, between Binis and Cala Tuent.

           *Torrent des Gorg Blau (Sa Fosca), our most difficult canyon. The most beautiful and impressive section is "Sa Fosca": the canyon is so narrow that the light doesn´t reach the bottom.

           *Torrent des Guix, between Coll de Sa Batalla (near Lluc) and Binibona.

           *Torrent de Coanegra,  between Orient and Santa Maria.

           *Torrent de Na Mora, between Port de Sóller and Cala Tuent.

           *Torrent des Lli and Torrent des Salt  above the "Port de Valldemossa".

           *Torrent de l´Ofre, between L´Ofre and Biniaraix.

            *Torrent d´Almadrà, between Cúber-dam and Lloseta.

            *Torrent del Molinet, below Fartàritx, near Pollença.

 

·        ►► For more information, there is a Majorcan book: "Els torrents clàssics de la Serra de Tramuntana" M. Trias, F. Ramon.