When the hot summer comes to an end and the bathers turn their backs on the island, Mallorca prepares for a different kind of tourist: the active holidaymakers with an eye for natural beauty. Thanks to its warm climate, Mallorca is attractive to hikers and cyclists throughout the low season. Especially the Serra de Tramuntana, the rugged mountain range along the west coast of the island, is an ideal setting for the sporty outdoor person. This is how we also enjoyed ourselves during the autumn holidays on numerous beautiful walks in Mallorca. These four hiking trails are our favorites.
1. Penya des Migdia (also called Penya Rotja)
For this walk, we headed to the peninsula between the wide bays of Pollença and Alcúdia, two towns that are definitely worth a visit. We parked our rental car at the monastery Ermita de la Victòria. There we started our journey on a wide gravel road, which we left after fifteen minutes via a staircase. Then the more enjoyable hiking began on narrow paths. On our right, steep rock faces rose up, while on the left, we looked out over the bay of Pollença and the Formentor peninsula.
Although we already liked the view, we decided to climb the first small peak after one and a half kilometers. We briefly went off the path to the right and climbed up to the Puig des Romani (387m). Only a few hikers take this small detour, so we enjoyed the panorama undisturbed. We could also see the other side of the peninsula from here and caught a glimpse of the final goal of our walk: a seventeenth-century cannon atop the next rocky peak!
We descended back to the original path towards Penya des Migdia and followed it further under overhanging rock walls and high above the sea. This brought us to the most exciting (read: most fun) part of the walk. A narrow path literally clings to the rock, while on the left, a steep abyss plunges straight into the sea. Not for people with a fear of heights! We then came to a small gate, carved into the rock, which we had to crawl through. How fun is that?!
A little further on, we passed the remains of a bunker and started the last climb of the day, sometimes on hands and knees. How we love this kind of adventure! This part is short but tough, so we were happy when we finally reached the four-hundred-year-old cannon at the top. A view in all directions over that beautiful coastline in the north of Mallorca. Absolutely recommended!
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Penya des Migdia
2. From Cúber to Puig de l’Ofre
A walk with incredibly beautiful views starts at the Cúber reservoir. For us, this was the highlight of the holiday. The hike covers not one, not even two, but three mountain peaks! So we were quite busy with this walk for a while, but we enjoyed it from beginning to end. We parked on the north side of the Cúber reservoir, where the walk also begins.
Soon we started the climb to the first peak, the Puig de sa Rateta (1107m). It certainly wasn’t easy, as the path was sometimes steep and sometimes difficult to find. In Mallorca, there seems to be no signposting in many places, so you just have to look for cairns (stone markers). Fun in itself, but sometimes we lost sight of the path. Moreover, we couldn’t follow any other hikers, and the numerous goats made their own paths.
Once at the top, we were surprised by a stunning view. We saw not only Cúber below, but also a second lake, Gorg Blau, and the summit of Puig Major, the highest mountain on the island. Beautiful! And there was more to come, because after a short descent, we climbed again to stand on the top of Puig de na Franquesa (1067m). Here, the impressive table mountain to the east, Puig de s’Alcadena, particularly caught our eye.
With our last strength, we finally conquered the last peak, the Puig de l’Ofre (1099m), for even more 360° panoramas. The sun was already starting to set, casting a warm, orange glow on the mountains around us. We held onto the magical feeling this gave us for as long as possible, started the return journey, and descended to a wide gravel road that brought us back to the reservoir and finally the parking lot. What a great day!
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From Cúber to Puig de l’Ofre
3. From Deià to Port de Sóller
This walk starts in the picturesque mountain village of Deià, descends to the beautiful bay of the same name, and then follows a stretch of the rugged coastline. Afterwards, the route climbs higher and deeper inland, where it follows the GR221 through olive groves and eventually ends in the bustling coastal town of Port de Sóller.
The start and end points of the walk are different, so you need to take the bus for about half an hour first. This dependency sometimes makes us a bit nervous, but our limited experience with public transport in Mallorca was fine. We parked in a free parking lot near the bus stop in Port de Sóller, where a bus leaves for Deià every hour. This is bus 203. On the bus company’s website, we found the departure times and were able to buy discounted bus tickets in advance (€ 2.70).
We recommend taking a walk through Deià at the start. The center is not large and we walked through it in ten minutes, but those were ten very charming minutes. We found the streets very clean, the houses extremely well-kept, and the location in the mountains picturesque. Afterwards, there was a descent towards Cala Deià, a bay with a small beach and one very popular restaurant/bar. The path runs slightly higher, and we followed the coast for another two kilometers, being treated to beautiful views along the way.
After that, it was a steep climb to reach the GR221. During our holiday, we encountered this long-distance trail several times and think it could also be very worthwhile. We followed it through very beautiful olive groves and past some large, authentic fincas (country estates) all the way to Port de Sóller. A perfect place to enjoy a well-deserved drink on a terrace in the late afternoon!
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From Deià to Port de Sóller
4. To the top of Puig Tomir
This adventurous mountain hike starts at a parking area on the Coll des Pedregaret. At least if you don’t hike on a Sunday, as we did. On Sundays and public holidays, the gate to the col (mountain pass) is closed. We missed this information and first walked another two and a half kilometers along an asphalt road to reach the parking lot. Oops.
On all other days of the week, the ascent of Tomir is highly recommended. It’s not the easiest walk, as we had to cross several scree slopes and even climb up one such scree gully. Many loose stones made the trek challenging, as did some steeper sections with cables and stirrups. Anyone who knows us a little knows that this is exactly what we enjoy!
The last seven hundred meters to the summit were less steep and easily passable. We walked here over a kind of gently rising plateau to the concrete marker indicating the summit (1103m). To the west, we saw all the other high mountains, and to the east, we could admire the coastline and peninsulas. Despite the misty weather, we found the view impressive. In clear skies, it must be absolutely fantastic!
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Puig Tomir
Tips for a hiking holiday in Mallorca
The ideal base
As you’ve noticed, for a hiking holiday in Mallorca, you should primarily be in the northwest of the island. We found the ideal base in Lloseta, a village close to the Ma-13 road, but also at the foot of the Serra de Tramuntana. From here, you can drive straight into the mountains, and it also takes about half an hour to reach the capital to the south and the peninsulas to the north. We stayed in this cozy house. More options can be found on booking.com.
Local transport
A rental car is, in our experience, necessary for a relaxed hiking holiday. The starting points of most walks are not accessible by public transport. As we have done in recent years, we relied again on Discovercars.com for reliable service without hassle.
Flights to Mallorca
Looking for cheap flights to Mallorca? We gathered some tips and tricks in this article. It mainly comes down to booking in advance, consulting a good flight comparison website, and being willing to fly from an airport other than the nearest one and/or on weekdays. We flew with Eurowings from Düsseldorf.
Hiking with a baby
We did all these hikes with our eight-month-old son in the baby carrier. We hope this paves the way for other young parents. Curious about how we approach this and what equipment is essential for us for hiking with a baby? Then take a look at this blog article!
