Mountains or sea? You can do BOTH in Mallorca. Top 5: Here are the best hikes!
On the largest of the Balearic Islands, you can easily combine the joys of reaching the summit with a swim in the sea. On most hikes, you have a more or less direct view of the sea. On the many coastal hikes in particular, you can hike along challenging paths beside the enticing turquoise sea.
The five best hikes on Mallorca? Not that easy, they are all beautiful, but here are my top 5:
3:30h, 11.5 km, 610m up and 860 m down
The famous horse trail of Archduke Ludwig Salvator, Cami de S'Arxiduc from Valldemossa to Deia, is undoubtedly the highlight of any coastal hike on Mallorca - the views of the sea and the mountains are simply spectacular!
One of my favourite places is the Mirador de ses Puntes,
which sits on a rocky outcrop behind a Moorish-looking façade and offers breathtaking views of the depths and the distance.
Other highlights of this hike on Mallorca are the Refugi de S'Arxiduc and the hermit cave Cova de s'Ermità Guillem and of course the Cami de S'Arxiduc itself, which leads along the exposed rocky ridge 800 meters above the sea.
All the information you need for this hike including GPS data can be found here:
5:30h, 14.5 km, 664 up and 659 m down
The route leads along the west coast of the island from Sóller to Cala Tuent, a beautiful beach with the impressive Tramuntana Mountains in the background.
Probably the most beautiful hike in Mallorca!
Steep cliffs, pine trees clinging to the coast, turquoise water and the scent of the sea and forest make this coastal hike an incredible experience. You can only get here on foot. The coast is completely unspoilt. The hiking trail winds its way between high mountains and the sea on a narrow path through the rocks. A new spectacular view awaits behind every bend. As a reward, Cala Tuent beckons with crystal clear water. For me, one of the most beautiful bathing bays on the west coast.
All the information you need for this hike including GPS data can be found here:
Here you can also go kayaking and diving:
5:00h, 7.7 km, 529 up and 1,136 m down
The impressive Torrent de Pareis has dug its way through rock walls up to 200 m high from the mountains to the sea. Probably the most challenging hike in Mallorca follows the gorge to the bay of Sa Calobra.
Mallorca's greatest adventure
The Torrent de Pareis gorge winds its way for just over 3 km through rock walls that are sometimes 200 m high.
Anyone who wants to complete this mountain tour has to jump over stones, climb through crevices, swim through pools and slide over boulders. Only hikers with climbing experience, absolute surefootedness and a head for heights should go here. The tour should not be underestimated - people have to be rescued here every year. Anyone who embarks on the hike through the Torrent de Pareis will be rewarded with one of the greatest adventures in Mallorca.
All the information you need for this hike including GPS data can be found here:
4. Climbing the Penyal des Migdia in Mallorca - difficult hike
The hike up Mount Migdia is one of the most challenging on the Spanish island.
Orientation is difficult and the ridge is narrow - the experience is gigantic!
The Penyal des Migdia towers over the valley of Soller like an impregnable fortress. From the west, all you can see is a smooth wall about 500m high. At 1398m, the Migdia is the highest climbable peak on Mallorca after the Puig Mayor, which lies in a military restricted area - a difficult and demanding hike leads to the summit. This demanding mountain tour should only be undertaken by hikers who are absolutely sure-footed and have a head for heights.
All the information you need for this hike including GPS data can be found here:
3:00h, 10.7 km, 64 up and down
The bay of Cala Marmols with its turquoise water and white sandy beach can only be reached on foot or by boat. An easy hike along the untouched southeast coast of Mallorca leads to this dream beach.
Every time I see Cala Marmols I feel like I'm in the Caribbean!
It doesn't always have to be the high mountains to make a hiker's heart beat faster. This relatively easy hike to Cala Marmols leads above the cliffs along the untouched southeastern tip of Mallorca . The destination is the beach in the bay, which has eaten its way inland like a fjord between the white limestone cliffs. The turquoise blue water invites you to take a (long) swim break!
All the information you need for this hike including GPS data can be found here:
Further information and links
INFO
Mallorca Tourist Office, Plaça de la Reina, ES-207012 Palma, Tel. +34 971 173990, https://www.mallorca.es/en/
Rolf Goetz: Hiking Guide Mallorca – The most beautiful coastal and mountain hikes . Rother Bergverlag, 2024
WEATHER
With 300 days of sunshine a year, the weather in Mallorca is rarely really bad for several days. On rainy days, the Serra de Tramuntana is often a weather divide. This means that when it is bad in the west, the weather in the east can be quite acceptable - and vice versa.
HIKING GUIDE
Josep Suau, Tel. +34 680417900, mallorcawalks.com
GETTING THERE
By plane :
Palma de Mallorca airport is served by numerous airlines from all major airports in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The flight time is around 2 hours.
A flight causes CO₂. On the page www.atmosfair.de/de/kompensieren/flug/ you can calculate and compensate for the CO₂ footprint of your flight.
With the ferry :
A ferry leaves Barcelona for Palma once or twice a day all year round; the journey takes around 7 hours, or just under 4 hours with the express ferry.
You can book the various providers, for example, via www.directferries.de .
By train :
Mallorca can also be reached in a climate-friendly way by train and ferry:
From western or northern Germany, the best connections go via Paris. From Paris, you can also take the TGV to Barcelona, where you can board the ferry (on the Balearia, Iscomar or Acciona lines) to Mallorca.
GETTING AROUND
Some of the bus connections on Mallorca are only designed for hikers during the high season. Timetables and prices can be found at www.tib.org .
To be a little more flexible, we recommend renting a car (for example via www.billiger-mietwagen.de ). However, some hikes are not designed as circular routes, so for the return journey you either have to get on a bus or take a taxi. There are taxi ranks in all larger towns, and the fixed prices are often displayed on a board at the taxi rank.
SLEEP
In my blog post:
I'll tell you where to find the most beautiful accommodations .
The best starting point for the high mountains and also some coastal hikes is the valley of Sóller, or Puerto Sóller. For the south, Sant Elm is recommended, and for the north, Pollença.
Mallorca is the largest of the Balearic Islands - if you live in the "wrong place", the journey can be quite long. It is therefore best to check before booking which area you would like to hike in the most, or change accommodation during your stay.
Those who do the GR221 walk from hut to hut, but the beautifully situated, relatively inexpensive refugios are also a good choice for “normal” day tours :
In addition to the usual providers such as www.booking.com or www.airbnb.de , there are also some providers specializing in Mallorca:
The website www.fincaferien.de has a large selection of self-catering accommodations on all Spanish islands.
www.fincasmallorca.de specializes in renting houses around the valley of Sóller.
CARDS
A good hiking map is the Kompass hiking, cycling and leisure map at a scale of 1:75,000, which is also available locally.
For the Tramuntana hiking region, the three sheets "Mallorca Tramuntana Central", " Mallorca Tramuntana Nord " and " Mallorca Tramuntana Sud" from Editorial Alpina at a scale of 1:25,000 are the best choice. The map " Vall de Sóller " (1:15,000), also published by Alpina, is ideal for the Soller region. The Alpina map " Mallorca Nord " (1:25,000) covers the north.
EQUIPMENT
We recommend hiking boots with a good tread (otherwise the paved paths can be quite slippery...), rain and sun protection , and - for cooler days - warm clothing. Long, thin trousers or knee socks , because the less frequently used tours lead through tall, cutting grass that can scratch your legs.