Paratge natural de la Serra de Tramuntana

Stages

A little history
Before starting the tour we tell you a little history of the possession. Plain is already documented as such in the fourteenth century. In the 15th century the farmhouse was owned by the brothers Jaume and Gregori Johan. Later it passed into the hands of Francesc Sunyer Colonúnes, knight and inquisitorial minister. In 1732 it was owned by the Marquis of Campofranco. It seems that from here the possession hatches in abundance. During that time, the property had houses, a refinery, a blood mill, a still to make brandy and a wine cellar. It had an orchard and was dedicated to olive groves, carob groves, fig trees, vineyards and cereal cultivation. The vineyard, planted in different parts of the estate, produced up to 20 bunches of grapes. In 1938, due to the great social changes and the progressive decline of the marquises who had already been dividing the estate, the Balle family bought Planícia and continued with agricultural production until the 21st century. Since February 2009 the property has been owned by the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands and the Ministry of the Environment, and is managed by the Ministry of the Environment of the Government of the Balearic Islands.

On the way home
The road to reach the houses of possession begins at the entrance barrier of the estate, located on the road. At all times you must follow the paved road. The first bends pass through an area of ​​holm oak and pine. At the crossroads with the GR (long-distance path) that comes from Estellencs, the landscape changes and the first olive groves begin to appear. Formerly the most significant product in mountain possessions was oil. Centennial olive trees are found all over our region. It is said that it was the Carthaginians who taught us the art of grafting olive trees, which grow wild all over our scrubland. We continue walking and on the left we see the beginning of the route of the source of s’Obi. A little further halfway we reach the Camp Gran. According to the godparents of Banyalbufar, this flat place, plain or plain, gives its name to this possession surrounded by mountains. It is the largest cultivation area in all of Planícia. Here were the oldest olive trees on the whole estate. With the last lords and coinciding with the decline in oil production, the olive trees were uprooted to sow pastures for the sheep. On the left we see the Porxo des Camp Gran, open on one side. It is a dry wall construction that can serve as a shelter in case of an unexpected shower. After the Camp Gran, shortly after the start of the Christian cistern route, three pine pines (Pinus pinea) rise, listed as unique trees in May 2004. A couple breeds inside the crown. of bathed owls (Asio otus). At the part of the seedbeds with the forest area, at an altitude of 420 meters, we reach the houses. From its viewpoint you can enjoy exceptional views over the coastal area of ​​Banyalbufar, Estellencs, Andratx and Sa Dragonera. Near the central building of the houses we find other dependencies of agricultural use and, more separated already in the way of the Rafal, the house of the Collidores built in order to lodge the olive harvesters that came from the towns of the Plan .

The houses of Planícia
The houses of possession are in a privileged place in the middle of the northern slope of the Mola de Planícia. They are preserved in good condition and are one of the best examples of houses that remain in the Serra de Tramuntana. In 1636 the houses were distributed in the following rooms: refinery, kitchen, living room and oil shop. The number of rooms and the category of furniture indicate that they were formerly modest. At present, the buildings in Planícia are complex and have an elongated layout, with the main façade facing north-west. The elevation is two storeys, except on the portal, where there is only one crowned by a balustrade. The main portal has a lowered arch, flanked by two windows. It gives access to a lobby leading to a small and harmonious cloister. This cloister covered by a parral separates the house of the lords, on the right, more modern, from that of the owners, on the left, older. The bottom left corner of the cloister is occupied by the cistern.

La tafona
Planícia is one of the most traditional olive groves in Mallorca. He can boast of having his own refinery where, not many years ago, they made the oil that they then distributed on the market. On the left wall you can see the date of construction of the refinery, in 1724, when the houses of the owners were also built. At that time it was considered a modern refinery. It had two beams, a fact that gave it a more than outstanding prestige. During the twentieth century, with the Balle brothers as owners, the system was mechanized in order to speed up the process of making oil. In this refinery in 1944-45 12,794 liters of oil were produced. This can be considered a normal or rather low amount. According to an informant, there was a year of great harvest in which the amount of oil was around 72,000 liters. The oil store, attached to the refinery, has sinks to choose from and the laundry room to store the liquid.

Old measures in the oil making process
The proper names of our ancient measures are as follows: In the hopper there were 16 barrels of olives, which constituted a trullada; they used to make 8 trullades per day and per beam; each trullada used to give 8 quarts of oil; 4 quarts of oil was a measure or 16 liters; 3 measures made a skin; and 2 skins composed a somada or load. Perhaps in the future it will be possible to re-process oil in the Planícia refinery.

Stages

Walking through the holm oak grove
A few meters after starting our itinerary we enter an holm oak grove. The oak forests (Quercus

Stages

The Bosc Gran We start our route at kilometer point 2.3 of the route on the way to the houses of Planícia. The first meters pass through an olive grove already overgrown with pine trees where we can see on the left hand side some large arbors. The large, toothed, shiny leaves of the arbutus tree ( Arbutus unedo ) are difficult to confuse. In autumn the white flowers and their red fruits are visible, which are edible. But they say that whoever eats a lot of it can get hooked and have a headache. Shortly after these arbors we enter the holm oak grove. Archduke Lluís Salvador in Die Balearen mentions them and says verbatim: “The forest is magnificent, one of the most beautiful in all of Mallorca, with its old and colossal oaks covered with moss and giant trees, real trees, probably the most rugged de Mallorca “The Bosc Gran, like the rest of the oak forests ( Quercus ilex ), is shady and humid. The lack of light under these trees conditions the species that can live below. It is not uncommon, while walking through the Bosc Gran, to hear the song of the woodpecker ( Loxia curvirostra ), the “qui qui qui” of the blue ferrerico ( Cyanistes caeruleus ) or the “tü , tü, tü … “monotonous and powerful anthill ( Jynx torquilla ). Oak groves have traditionally been exploited to make charcoal and grazed by pigs that ate acorns and tubers from undergrowth plants. They are communities, then, that have suffered strong human pressure. In the Bosc Gran, the remains of the coal mine are very clear. The Christian cistern We continue inside the holm oak grove and, having passed a vestige of a lime kiln and some bread ovens, we arrive at the Christian cistern. It is a stone deposit with a more or less rectangular floor covered with a dry vault. It collects both runoff and water from the Es Bosc spring. This fountain, which rises a few meters above the cistern, covered the houses through a gutter. This cistern is a sample of a functional architecture related in its entirety to life in the forest and its exploitation. It served both coal miners and thrush hunters from the Great Forest. The sober appearance given by the functionality and the use of stone as a raw material contribute to the integration of these constructions in the landscape. Hunting with yarn. The thrush necks A little after passing the Christian cistern we can see an old thrush neck. Yarn hunting is one of the forms of hunting that have persisted since Roman times. The hunter first chooses a place where the distance between the trees is narrow. He then lifts a pile of flat stones to make a chair and covers the space of his back with branch so as not to be seen by the thrush. At dawn, the hunter sits and raises two reeds forming a “v” (hence the word “neck”) where a wire is fastened and patiently waits for the arrival of the thrush that has gone to sleep in the woods. Once the bird encounters the wire, the hunter folds one rod by placing it on top of the other, so it is very common for the rod on the right to be lighter than the one on the left. This modality is still present today in the whole of the Serra de Tramuntana between the months of October and March and until recently in the domains of the Mola de Planícia. The farm is currently a wildlife refuge. Carboner or sitger? Have you noticed some flat rolls of earth surrounded by stones? They are rolls of silos. The Bosc Gran de Planícia is one of the holm oak groves where there is a greater concentration of silage rolls and coal miners’ huts. Although it seems impossible to draw up a census, some authors speak of more than one hundred and fifty rolls, with their huts and various bread ovens. It was one of the last places in Mallorca where silo coal was produced. In the last silo that we can see almost at the end of our route, remains of coal can still be discerned. And who made these silos? They are known as charcoal burners or sitgers, classic figures of our rural area of ​​yesteryear, whose trade became very important, when neither gas nor much electricity was known. The coal miner made charcoal or silo, in the middle of the mountains, rich in holm oaks, where the long summer crops were spent. The coal miner’s life was hard and full of deprivations. They started at Easter and came back at St. Matthew’s and in all that time they only went down a few Sundays. One of the first tasks was to choose the ranch or place where they had to mount the silo to make the coal, which used to be a clearing of an oak grove or almanco near it, to have the necessary firewood on hand. . Another task was to raise the hut, to live there with his family. The low ones were of stones and the high ones were covered with tops and branches, which were covered with a very tight reed, so that the water would not enter if it started to rain. The door was a bundle of firewood, which in the evenings was placed at the entrance so that no animal could enter it. At lunchtime, the stinging oil pan was always very clean. Soups or noodles, cakes or cocarrois if they had a little vegetable, in addition to cheese and some pickle a little sobrasada were the meats of the charcoal burner family. “He who makes lime, goes barefoot” And have you seen some cylindrical stone constructions that sink into the ground? There is no doubt that these are lime kilns, where the calciners worked hard to convert the limestone, which had to be fired, into quicklime, which was used, among other uses, to whitewash the houses. Up to seven lime kilns are preserved in the forests of Planícia, some with their own names such as the Forn des Pinaret and the Forn de sa Barrereta. Lime, coal miners used to sell, and it shouldn’t be a big deal if the popular saying is true: “He who makes lime goes barefoot.” Along the way back we find other vestiges of mountain life in the past.

Stages

The village of Deià
The starting point of our itinerary is the village of Deià. It is one of the smallest and most beautiful municipalities in the Serra de Tramuntana. The natural conditions of the terrain, the strong slope -which starts from Teix and reaches the cove- and the abundance of water have shaped a very particular landscape where the slopes have made the mountain a livable and cultivable place.
A walk through the town reveals one of the most interesting aspects of this town: the traditional architecture. Stone is the fundamental basis of Deià’s constructions: façades, portals, windows, cobbled streets or some open ditches are some examples.
The village has become one of the biggest tourist attractions in Mallorca. Unlike what has happened in most of the tourist areas of the Balearic Islands, a luxury hotel has been created here without stridency. And far from being an imbalance in traditional customs, this tourism adapts to the social life of the town and actively participates in it.

Washers
In Deià, where a torrent flows or there is a spring that flows all year round, we can see collective sinks, the laundries (or washing machines for the people of Deian), where it was done and still is done, the laundry every week or every fortnight, when the bed sheets were moved.
In the old days, curled up on their arms and fastened with a wide apron, our laundresses formed groups, and while they clenched their clothes, they sang, laughed and talked about the latest news from the village.
In Carrer des Clot, which leads to the Can Boi refuge, on the right we can see an example of these laundries.

Deià, source of inspiration
The town of Deià, in recent years, has been a source of inspiration for painters, poets, novelists, musicians …
Once you have visited the village of Deià, you must head to the Can Boi refuge, from where the descent to the cove begins.

Some plants on the Camí dels Ribassos
In the first section of the path, still walking through the village of Deià, between the stone joints of the banks, we can find different plant species, such as the abundant polypodium (Polypodium cambricum) or the climbing ivy (Hedera helix).
The falzia (Adiantum capillus-venerís) is a small fern that looks for the darkest and wettest places to live. So it is not uncommon to find it in the vicinity of canals, fountains and drips.
To our right runs the torrent Major, filled with abundant species typical of humid environments, such as reeds (Arundo donax) and abatzers (Rubus ulmifolius), which form impenetrable hedges.
Also in the area of ​​the torrent, we can see, in spring or winter, the soft blue flowers of the vincapervinca or witch viola (Vinca difformís).
Further down, after passing a wooden bouncer, leaving the orchard area, the atmosphere is already much drier. Here, fennel (Brachypodium spp.), Robin (Rubia peregrina) and moix asparagus (Asparagus acutifolius) abound, accompanied by reeds under the shade of olive trees (Olea europaea var. Sylvestris) and carob trees (Ceratonia síliqua).
The reddish color of the shrubby letter (Euphorbia dendroides) is unmistakable during the months of May and June, shortly before it loses its leaves to spend the warmer months.
Finally, in the cove, accumulations of leaves of Posidonia oceanica upper plant popularly called “algae” are often seen, which cover and protect the sand and pebbles from winds and storms.

Cala de Deià
It is the point of arrival of our itinerary. It is the largest cove in the municipality of Deià and one of the main in the Serra de Tramuntana. It is located between the points of Deià and Son Beltran, and serves as a mouth for the Major torrent of Deià. It is basically a pebble cove, but there are some stretches of sand.
It appears documented for the first time in the map of Cardinal Despuig (1,785). It traditionally served as a shelter for fishing boats; in fact there are some characteristic fishermen’s houses (today uninhabited) and a whole structure of beds. The fishermen who lived there also cultivated vineyards and vegetables on the surrounding terraces, as well as sheep and goat farming.
Currently scars are still used by amateur fishermen, although a storm damaged a few that are waiting to be repaired. There is a restaurant where you can enjoy good food by the sea.

Smuggling: A “well-considered” crime
The hidden coves and corners of Deià, served, like most of the coastal towns of Mallorca, to carry out one of the most lucrative and risky activities: smuggling.
It was a “well-regarded” crime among the inhabitants. It arose in response to a suffocating tax regime, the scarcity of resources as well as an impoverished rural environment. It benefited from easy access to a coast full of coves and hidden corners so that no animal could enter it. At lunchtime, the stinging oil pan was always very clean. Soups or noodles, cakes or cocarrois if they had a little vegetable, in addition to cheese and some pickle a little sobrasada were the meats of the charcoal burner family. “He who makes lime, goes barefoot” And have you seen some cylindrical stone constructions that sink into the ground? There is no doubt that these are lime kilns, where the calciners worked hard to convert the limestone, which had to be fired, into quicklime, which was used, among other uses, to whitewash the houses. Up to seven lime kilns are preserved in the forests of Planícia, some with their own names such as the Forn des Pinaret and the Forn de sa Barrereta. Lime, coal miners used to sell, and it shouldn’t be a big deal if the popular saying is true: “He who makes lime goes barefoot.” Along the way back we find other vestiges of mountain life in the past.

Stages

Luke, of Lucus, Sacred Forest
We begin our itinerary at the monastery of Lluc, spiritual center of the island of Mallorca. It is located in the municipality of Escorca, in the heart of the Serra de Tramuntana Natural Park, at an altitude of 4 70 m and protected by the main elevations of the Mallorcan mountains: the Puig Major de Massanella (1,367 m), the Puig Tomir (1,102 m) and Puig Roig (1,002 m), among others.
Lluc is the starting point for many itineraries and hiking routes. This valley, crowded by a leafy holm oak grove, is an almost magical place. Etymologically the place name of Luke comes from the Latin lucus, “sacred forest”. This meaning suggests a primitive cult to some pagan deity by the first inhabitants of Lluc, of which there remain, around the sanctuary, abundant prehistoric remains and remains among which stand out those located in the comet des Morts.

On the way to the karst
We walk under the porches of the sanctuary of Luke until we find a portal through which we pass. We follow the paved road next to the torrent. A few meters further on we turn left until we reach the football field we are crossing. From here we see a wooden bridge over the Lluc torrent, pass it and stop to look at the Puig de ses Monges, a place name that refers to the karst forms that protrude from the forest. The path will lead us uphill through a rocky labyrinth surrounded by a shady forest of leafy oaks (Quercus ilex). In this holm oak grove you can’t miss the white flower with twisted petals of pork bread (Cyclamen balearicum) in spring. We can also admire some broadleaf buckthorn (Phyllirea latifolia).

The karst
The term karst comes from the German word kras, Karst, the name of the region that stretches from southwestern Slovenia to northeastern Italy, and where the characteristic shapes of limestone rocks were first studied and defined. sculpted by the action of rainwater. By extension, karst or karst region is used to call a terrain of rocks consisting mainly of calcium carbonate, which dissolves slowly by the action of water, so that it forms a characteristic landscape both on the surface (exocarstic forms ) as inside (endocarst forms). A large part of the Serra de Tramuntana is made up of folded units arranged in the form of superimposed flakes, composed of calcareous and marly-calcareous materials, so that they can be altered by karstification processes.
The four main exocarst morphologies found in the Sierra are: the large karst depressions, the small ones – called sinkholes -, the karst canyons (such as the Pareis torrent and the Gorg Blau) and the rellars or esquetjars, which are the more abundant, with rocks with chiselled grooves, grooves, tubes, perforations, concavities, etc. On the other hand, with the Serra de Tramuntana there are two characteristic endocarst morphologies: the abysses and the caves. The chasms are located at the top of the limestone massif and drain the water that will reach the subsoil vertically. The caves can also be located at the top of the limestone massif or in the groundwater area, where groundwater accumulates, which tends to drain horizontally inside the karst system until it comes out through the springs. .

Who sculpted ” Es Camel ‘?
Shortly before reaching a roll of silo, just to the right a small sign indicates “Es Camell”, a unique rock formation that we will find about two minutes from the point where we are.
This rock with a suggestive shape of a camel, or dromedary, or turtle – it all depends on the imagination of each one – has not been modeled by any sculptor. It has been the water, which has been responsible for eroding the rock. The explanation is as follows: carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere combines with rainwater to form slightly acidic water due to its carbonic acid content which, when it falls on carbonated rocks, transforms carbonates into bicarbonates, which they are more soluble and therefore transportable. Every time it rains the water dissolves part of the Sierra in a slow process but without breaks.
The rock formations that make up the surrounding landscape are structures that were initially shaped by rainwater, when the karst massif was covered by the ground. When this layer was lost due to erosion processes, the rocks were exposed and the atmospheric agents retouched them according to the variable climate that Mallorca has experienced in the recent geological past, generating ridges, channels, concavities, etc.
A few meters from Camell there is a viewpoint over the mountains of Lluc, which is also worth visiting to see the valley of Jehoshaphat, which runs from Son Amer to Ca s’Amitger.

From Camel to Comet of the Dead
We go back fines at the point where we had deviated to follow our path and all of a sudden you will see a roll of coal silo. It is a testament to the ancient traditional use of the forest. For many years, silos were used to obtain charcoal from oak wood.
About five minutes from the aforementioned roundabout we will reach a fork: the path on the left would lead us to Pixarells, while the one on the right, which will be the one we will follow, will lead us to the comet des Morts. We will pass under a pine (Pinus halepensis) with a malformation of unknown origin, which is popularly called “witch graft” or “giant spit”. The leaves are very crowded and together take on a spherical shape that serves as a nest for species such as the barn owl (Asio otus).
The path descends slightly to re-flatten when it reaches a valley called Cometa dels Morts, which geologically corresponds to a sinkhole. Sewers are oval or circular funnel-shaped depressions typical of karst areas and produced by the surface dissolution of the karst massif or by the collapse of the roof of a cavity. This valley hides many prehistoric natural caves. The place name “des Morts” refers to the remains of burials from the Talayotic period that were discovered inside one of the caves in the lower part of the valley.
Years ago this sinkhole was used for the cultivation of olive trees. Today, its abandonment has given way to the development of pine (Pinus halepensis), more open and sunny than holm oak, which allows the growth of specimens of olive or gooseberry (Cneorum tricoccon), cypress (Erica multiflora) , mastic (Pistacia lentiscus), from the ubiquitous lemon steppe (Cistus monspeliensis) in the middle of a large number of reeds (Ampelodesmos mauritanica). These plants provide birds with an abundant supply of fruits, seeds and insects.

Cave of the Comet of the Dead
To find the cave of the comet des Morts we must follow the signs that lead us along a path that enters the holm oak grove and leads us to its entrance.
This cave has been known since the 18th century and was excavated in 1945 and 1948 by Father Cristòfol Veny. There will be two phases of burial. The first was located in the final quarter, and corresponded to the Bronze Age. The second, remains of lime burials, were located in the central part of the cave and corresponded to the Iron Age. Currently the remains that were discovered are on display in the Museum of the Sanctuary of Lluc and the Museum of Mallorca.
To continue our itinerary, we will take the path we have left momentarily. The road makes some bends to get to the road. We continue to the right and about fifty meters later we will see a wide path that goes down the old path Vell de Pollença to Lluc. We will follow this path, which will lead us back to the football field where the route of this route ends.

Stages

Walking a Royal Path
After passing under the porches of the Sanctuary of Lluc, we take an asphalt road with the torrent on the edge. A few meters further on, we turn left until we reach the football field. We leave a wooden bridge on the left and continue along the old Camino Real that connected Lluc with Pollença.
Camí del Rei or Camí Reial was the name given to the main road in medieval times. The first documentary reference to this road from Lluc to Pollença dates from 1337. It appears in the acts of the Military Order of the Temple. In 1914, that horseshoe path was replaced by a carriage road.
And what’s the difference between a horseshoe path and a cart path? Horseshoe paths were also called three-legged paths, a name that alludes to their width: about 60 cm. These allowed the passage of people and draft animals with the load on their backs. The carriageways were the widest, at least 2.5 or 3 m wide. And as its name suggests, they allowed the passage of carts.

Menut Lime Oven
We take the Andratx-Pollença road and turn left until we find a paved road with signs welcoming us to the public estates of Menut and Binifaldó. Shortly before reaching the houses of Menut, on the left side of the road, we see a recently restored lime kiln.
Obtaining lime through the limestone firing process is a very old technique. It is known that the Romans already used lime kilns to carry out this process. Liquid lime has been used since ancient times to whitewash the walls of houses, in construction and also for therapeutic and hygienic uses.
The location of the lime kiln was determined by the proximity of the raw materials: limestone and firewood. After seven to ten days of constant burning, the stones turned to lime. The job of a calciner was hard and cumbersome work, and also dangerous.

From the houses of Menut to the houses of Binifaldó
We advance a few meters and deviate from the paved road to see the houses of Menut. They are structured around a cloister and a defense tower, listed as an Asset of Cultural Interest. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the fear of being attacked by pirates led some possessions to build towers to protect themselves from enemy incursions. This tower, which probably dates from 1599, is almost square (6.4 x 6.3 m) and flattened at the bottom.
One of the buildings is currently the site of a native seed bank. There is also a forest nursery dedicated to the production of plants for reforestation.
We return to the road and head towards the houses of Binifaldó. From now on, the path is gaining ground in the middle of a karstic landscape with oaks (Quercus ilex), below which we find some bushes (Pistacia lentiscus) and above all, lemon steppe (Cistus monspeliensis), easy to identify because the leaves, which are very elongated, have glands that give a characteristic aroma and cling between the fingers.
We continue until we find some very tall white lice (Populus alba) that indicate the arrival at the houses of Binifaldó.

From Beni Haldun to Binifaldó
The Binifaldó estate, located at the foot of Puig Tomir, surrounded by old and leafy holm oaks on one side and farmland on the other, is today an Environmental Education Center.
The place name Binifaldó clearly marks the existence of an ancient Islamic farmhouse, if we look at the prefix bini-. Its etymology is from the Arabic Beni Haldun, “sons of Haldun”. In the distribution of the island of Mallorca, after the conquest of James I, it corresponded to the Order of the Temple. From the 15th century the property passed through different hands, until it was donated, in 1682, to the Sanctuary of Lluc. Like the Menut estate, Binifaldó passed into expropriation in 1897. It is currently managed by the Government of the Balearic Islands.
We follow the paved road until we reach the Coll des Pedregaret, where we find a dry wall that serves to delimit the lands of different possessions. We jump off the wall and continue to the right for a tyrant, signposted with Lluc.

How did a coal miner live?
From now on and for a good stretch, we will follow a tyrant called Camí des Porxo, which crosses the Bosc Gran, of pines and holm oaks. You can see huts and silo rolls, formerly used to obtain charcoal.
The best way to tell you what his job was like is to use the words of a charcoal burner: “We have never been rich or owned land. The piece of forest where we worked, the ranch, was not ours. We talked to the master to choose it, we hired three or four quarters and looked for the best place to make the silo roll.I have to tell you that a silo is a pile of pieces of firewood that gradually turn into coal.We rarely went down in the village.We provide them s at the point where we had deviated to follow our path and all of a sudden you will see a roll of coal silo. It is a testament to the ancient traditional use of the forest. For many years, silos were used to obtain charcoal from oak wood.
About five minutes from the aforementioned roundabout we will reach a fork: the path on the left would lead us to Pixarells, while the one on the right, which will be the one we will follow, will lead us to the comet des Morts. We will pass under a pine (Pinus halepensis) with a malformation of unknown origin, which is popularly called “witch graft” or “giant spit”. The leaves are very crowded and together take on a spherical shape that serves as a nest for species such as the barn owl (Asio otus).
The path descends slightly to re-flatten when it reaches a valley called Cometa dels Morts, which geologically corresponds to a sinkhole. Sewers are oval or circular funnel-shaped depressions typical of karst areas and produced by the surface dissolution of the karst massif or by the collapse of the roof of a cavity. This valley hides many prehistoric natural caves. The place name “des Morts” refers to the remains of burials from the Talayotic period that were discovered inside one of the caves in the lower part of the valley.
Years ago this sinkhole was used for the cultivation of olive trees. Today, its abandonment has given way to the development of pine (Pinus halepensis), more open and sunny than holm oak, which allows the growth of specimens of olive or gooseberry (Cneorum tricoccon), cypress (Erica multiflora) , mastic (Pistacia lentiscus), from the ubiquitous lemon steppe (Cistus monspeliensis) in the middle of a large number of reeds (Ampelodesmos mauritanica). These plants provide birds with an abundant supply of fruits, seeds and insects.

Cave of the Comet of the Dead
To find the cave of the comet des Morts we must follow the signs that lead us along a path that enters the holm oak grove and leads us to its entrance.
This cave has been known since the 18th century and was excavated in 1945 and 1948 by Father Cristòfol Veny. There will be two phases of burial. The first was located in the final quarter, and corresponded to the Bronze Age. The second, remains of lime burials, were located in the central part of the cave and corresponded to the Iron Age. Currently the remains that were discovered are on display in the Museum of the Sanctuary of Lluc and the Museum of Mallorca.
To continue our itinerary, we will take the path we have left momentarily. The road makes some bends to get to the road. We continue to the right and about fifty meters later we will see a wide path that goes down the old path Vell de Pollença to Lluc. We will follow this path, which will lead us back to the football field where the route of this route ends.

Stages

Son Fortuny
The route begins at the entrance to the public estate of Son Fortuny (km 97 of Ma-10), owned by the Consell Insular de Mallorca since 1981. The track begins an ascent with a strong face and continuous bends.
Son Fortuny was a large mountain estate that stretched along the northern slope of Puig de Galatzó. The public estate of Son Fortuny includes 280 ha of historic property, once the largest in the municipality of Estellencs. The houses are located in the private part of the old building.
After about 20 minutes of climbing, we reach a landing where a water tank is located to fight forest fires. The path we leave on the right reaches the refuge of Sa coma d’en Vidal. We take the one on the left, which will take us to the Boal de ses Serveres.

Server Disease
Suddenly we find ourselves in the recreational area of ​​Son Fortuny. In the clearing we can also see remains of the exploitation of the forest, with a roll of silo and a coal hut.
On the left we find the track that will take us to the refuge of the Boal de ses Serveres. The name boal seems to refer to the building attached to the shelter that was used as a stable for the cattle and is currently demolished.
After a slight climb, a few meters on the left we have the viewpoint of the Boal de ses Serveres. From now on, the path is slightly invaded by the reed (Ampelodesmos mauritanica) and after a few meters it becomes a mountain tyrant that runs clinging to the rock. It will not be difficult for us to follow the milestones between the cart, we just have to be careful not to fill with the leaves!
After 15 minutes we arrive at a silo roll that is almost hanging in a vacuum. It’s a good place to think about how the men and women who worked in the Tramuntana forests lived. We will also enjoy a good view of the town of Estellencs.

Pas de na Sabatera and climb to the top of Puig de Galatzó
After an hour of walking we arrive at Pas de na Sabatera. Half an hour separates us from the summit, we just have to follow the milestones. Here, if the day accompanies us, we have an impressive view: to the N, the village of Estellencs and the sea; to the NE, the Mola de Planícia (920 m); to the E, the valley of Superna, the mola del Ram (820 m) and the villages of Puigpunyent and Galilea; to the SE, Palma; to the south, the municipality of Calvià and Sa Mola in Port d’Andratx; to the SW, the moleta de s’Esclop (926 m); and to the west, the Serra des Pinotells and its moleta Rasa.
Here we can stop and notice that the vegetation has been changing along the entire route. From the dense holm oak grove of the first sections we reach the typical landscape of the Mallorcan mountains. From October to February we can see the saffron bord (Crocus cambessedesii) flowering in the crevices of the last section.

House of Aragon. The green meridian
At the top of the Puig de Galatzó we find a metal cross and a geodesic vertex. Geodetic vertices were used as reference points to measure distances and angles and thus represent the Earth’s surface. The Roussillon astronomer Francesc Aragó, who worked on these tasks, lived in the neighboring Moleta area of ​​s’Esclop for a year. On May 2, 1802, the Paris-based Bureau des Longitudes commissioned two astronomers, one of them Aragon, to measure the Paris meridian. Aragon arrived in the Islands in March 1807 and began to make the necessary triangulations to measure exactly the distances between the Islands and the Peninsula and thus obtain the latitude of the meridian arc.
That was a busy time in Mallorca, as it coincided with the beginning of the French War. Suddenly, after hearing the news of the uprising, the presence at the top of s’Esclop of a Frenchman who was signaling with fire and strange instruments, became very suspicious. He was suddenly charged with espionage.
Luckily for Aragon, he had a sailor friend who came up to warn him of the mob’s intentions. They both went down and Aragon dressed as a farmer and speaking Mallorcan was not recognized by the expedition that went up to capture him.
In spite of everything, he did not manage to escape of Majorca, since when he arrived at Palma he was jailed in the castle of Bellver.

Count Evil, legend
One of the lords of the Galatzó estate, the count of Santa Maria de Formiguera, don Ramon Burgués Zaforteza i Fuster, went down in history as count Mal.
Legend has it that the count did not hesitate to have his enemies killed or tortured. In s’Argolla and on the Coll d’en Debades there is a rock with holes, where it is said that an iron bar was inserted to stop the enemies and torture them to death. It seems that the nobles were taken to s’Argolla, while those of more humble social status were hung on the Coll d’en Debades, so called because if the prisoners asked for clemency, they did so in vain.
The owners of Galatzó sometimes had difficulty recruiting people who wanted to work in the possession because they were afraid of it.
It seems that he was not so bad, he only had the bad luck that his mother widowed and they both had to flee the village, repudiated by the villagers. The count had to overcome many difficulties to regain his rights.
According to legend, Count Mal rides his green horse alone through the mountains of Galatzó. They say that on November nights, when only the wind and the noise of the animals are heard from the mountains, it is a sign of the presence of Count Mal.
We descend from Puig de Galatzó and return along the same path to Pas de na Sabatera. From here, we will turn left towards Pas des Cossis, which will take us back in about 55 minutes to the recreational area of Son Fortuny.

Stages

Son Moragues
Son Moragues is located in the western foothills of the Teix, where we find the Puig des Caragoli, the Puig des Boixos and the Puig Gros, all of them more than 900 meters.
It is currently part of the set of public estates in the Balearic Islands. In 1979, Son Moragues became public property, in the hands of ICONA, which in 1984 ceded it to the Government of the Balearic Islands.
In 1981, Son Moragues was declared a public utility mountain and included in the State Mountains Catalog. The estate was protected to ensure the conservation of this ecosystem by declaring it the ANEI by means of the Decree of protected holm oak groves and it was included in the Serra de Tramuntana Natural Park. The farm has had a traditional livestock and hunting use until 2001 when it was declared a hunting refuge.
The estate is currently one of the most visited by hikers in the Serra de Tramuntana and environmental education activities for schoolchildren have been recovered. The property currently has a shelter located an hour and a half walk.

The forest of Es Cairats: uses of the forest and coal ranchers
We begin our itinerary in front of the houses of Son Gual in the street of Hungary. We just follow the street that takes us to the top of the village. After a very large carob tree in the middle of the street we find a dirt track on the left that takes us to the barrier of Son Moragues.
Ten minutes and we are already at the barrier. We go down the stone steps to its right and enter the holm oak grove of Coma des Cairats. The environment around us is typical of a humid and shady oak forest (Quercus ilex).
All of a sudden we find samples of human activity. Before the widespread use of gas and oil, the energy source used was coal. Coal is obtained from the slow, low-oxygen combustion of firewood. The result is a light product, with a lot of caloric power and that remains unchanged; it was therefore a very good choice.
The coal miners transformed the firewood into charcoal in the woods and then lowered it to sell to the village. They leased to the lord of the property the plot of forest from which they could extract the firewood and where to build the roll of the silo. The silo roll is the circle of stones where the pieces of firewood were piled up for burning. They placed a base of stones leaving channels through which enough air could circulate to burn the firewood but without it being consumed completely.
The firewood was always placed in the same way: the thicker logs lying in the middle and the thinner logs in an upright position – the thinner they were on the sidewalk. Bundles of reeds or oak branches were placed on top of the firewood, followed by a layer of earth that was well pressed so that there was no breath left. In the center was left a gap, the eye of the silo that acted as a chimney, where the fire was lit and fed about six times a day to keep warm.
While the silo was burning it could not be left unattended, as if it burned badly the whole firewood could be burned or cooked more on one side than the other. That is why next to the silo, the coal miners built their huts. They were very simple drywall and reed roof constructions. The only opening was the door that faced the roll to guard the silo. The cooking lasted about a week or ten days.

Lime kiln
On the way up to the Font des Polls we can see three lime kilns. Often to supplement the income, the coal miners built a lime kiln near the silo. Only the near presence of limestone (living stone) was needed.
The kiln was started by digging a circular hole, called a pot, about two meters deep and about six meters in diameter. Then the interior was lined with stones, covering the joints of the interior with mud. The pot protruded from the floor like a thick wall, called a ribbon, in which a walkway and a door were integrated to facilitate the loading of the oven.
The stones to be converted into lime were placed inside the pot in concentric circles, decreasing the diameter until a fig-like construction remained. As in the silos, a hole was also left in the middle to act as a chimney.
The pile of stones was covered with a layer of lime mud that left vents for better firing. The kiln was fed with bundles of wood too thin to make charcoal through the chimney and an opening that was left at the bottom of the cover. The fire was to remain constant for ten or twelve days. It took three to six people to do all this work.
The fire transformed the living stone (CaC03) into quicklime (CaO). The quicklime was mixed with water to obtain a white material that was used to whitewash the walls of the houses every year.

Font des Polls
Following the track and after several zigzags, we can catch our breath in the recreational area of ​​the Font des Polls.
The bottom t des Polls is a source of mine. The water was channeled from the underground spring, building canals with the minimum slope necessary so that it could come out by the force of gravity.
Surrounding the fountain we see several lice (Populus nigra) that give the fountain its name. We can also find them in gorges, ponds, streams and other sources of the Sierra because it is a demanding tree in demand for water.

Son Moragues refuge and snow house
We continue our ascent and, after leaving a laundry room on the left, we arrive at the old porch of the snowmen enabled as a refuge.
A few meters above the shelter is the snow house. This is where the forest trail ends.
Until relatively recently, in Mallorca, snow was a highly valued product. Ice was used to preserve food and to make ice cream. At that time there were no refrigerators!
After the first major snowfalls, groups of snowmen went up to the places where the snow houses were. Snowmen collected the accumulated snow on the surrounding slopes and threw it into the house through the door and the four bombers on the sides. Then they went down to press the snow well and covered it with reeds, so that it would be preserved all summer. Then they cut and hauled the ice bars to the points of sale with beasts.

Here ends our itinerary; we will return to Valldemossa by the same path.

Stages

Climbing: How does vegetation change when we climb a mountain?
The first section, between Lluc and the Coll des Pedregaret, is the same as the one described in the brochure of the route around Sa Moleta de Binifaldó, so we invite you to consult it to make this section. Once we are at the Coll des Pedregaret, we leave the asphalt to turn left. Here begins a path that, in principle, skirts the wall with a grid that closes the enclosure of the bottler until it reaches the view of an impressive creek. We then turn to the right and quickly gain altitude by making successive zigzags between the last pines and holm oaks.
The ascent path has a steep slope and crosses the upper part of the ravine. We must follow the indications of some red marks and stone landmarks, which will lead us to a small street where a handrail is installed to facilitate the passage. We follow the path of a narrow and roasting ravine. We reach a point that seems closed by a funnel of rocks. The only alternative is to climb (with hands and feet and the help of another handrail) down a narrow vertical channel.
We can see how the weather conditions change gradually from the base to the top of the hill, where temperatures are lower, snow is a more frequent phenomenon and winds can be stronger. The vegetation reflects these changes. Plants in dry, warm places are found at the base of mountains, and those in cold, humid environments are in the highlands. Schematically, in the mountains we can differentiate three floors or communities that characterize this climatic heterogeneity: the floor of the olive groves and pine forests, the floor of the holm oak groves and the culminating floor with socarrells. As we climb, the forest disappears, given the impossibility of forming dense forest masses in places with steep reliefs, sparse soil and strong winds.
The climb is a good opportunity to see on the ground the transition from the pine-holm oak grove to the high mountain vegetation. When leaving the forest, we can smell the strong aroma of the elongated leaves of the bruconia (Teucrium asiaticum), which, despite its scientific name, is endemic to Mallorca and Menorca.
And in autumn, among the crevices of the rocks, you will see the white flowers with violet lines of the also endemic saffron bord (Crocus cambessedesii).

Some birds in the area
If we are lucky, we may be able to admire the flight of the most emblematic bird and conservationist symbol of the Sierra: the black vulture (Aegypius monachus). It is the largest bird in Europe, with a wingspan of two and a half meters and a weight that can reach eight kilograms. It nests with branches on pines very close to the sea. At the beginning of the eighties, its population was made up of only a little over twenty specimens. The poison was responsible for reducing the number of specimens. To recover the species, a conservation plan was implemented. Thanks to these efforts, the Mallorcan vulture population has increased significantly.
If we are lucky, we will enjoy a real spectacle if we can see how the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) hunts a bird in flight by jumping on the prey at a speed that can reach 320 km / h.
In this area nests a small hawk the size of a reddish dove with cream-colored underparts turned dark: the woodpecker (Falco tinnunculus).

What plants can live on top of our mountains?
After the climb, we follow the ridge to the left and the stone landmarks will lead us to the top. The extensive panoramic view is magnificent: the bays of Alcúdia and Pollença, the cape of Formenter and, behind us, the Puig Major and the one of Massanella.
Above 1,100 meters, the plant communities are low and scattered, with the presence of compact shrubs that take advantage of all the places where it is possible to take root. Competition for space can be fierce, and only plants best adapted to wind, winter cold, heat, stony soils, and strong summer radiation will be able to cling and persist. It is not surprising, then, that we find a very high proportion of species endemic to the Balearic Islands (which we will not find anywhere else in the world) that have evolved over time and have adapted to the conditions of our mountains.
Of this group of species, we can highlight two that are popularly known as nun pads. They are the white and black rat weevil (Teucrium marum subsp. Occidentale and Astragalus balearicus). These two species are an example of evolutionary convergence, i.e., they resemble each other externally but are not of the same family. This evolutionary convergence towards thorny pads (rounded and thorny shape) makes the plant more protected from strong winds and herbivores. We can also see how the Balearic blueberry (Smilax aspera subsp. Balearica) has this rounded shape.
Both species of pads are differentiated by flowers and other characteristics: the white rat weevil (Teucrium marum) is a labiate, whitish plant, and the thorns it has are lateral formations of the twigs. The black rat weevil (Astragalus balearicus) is a leguminous plant, has a dark green color, and the thorns are the central axis of the hardened leaves.

Snowman memories
Once at the top, it’s worth getting to the remains of the snow houses. Next to the dry stone hole, today covered with ivy (Hedera helix), it is inevitable to remember the effort of the indefatigable snowmen.
At a time when there were no glaciers, the population took advantage of the snow. Our great-grandparents learned how to store it carefully in snow pits for use in sanitary purposes and to cool off during the hot summer days.
On the way back, we follow the reverse the same route we did during the ascent. We need to be very alert with the most vertical sections.

Stages

Mortitx, land of vineyards and olive groves
Our walk begins at the entrance to the Mortitx estate, at km 10.9 of the Ma-10 road in Andratx-Pollença. The path is on the left if we come from Lluc. After a tennis court, turn left. In a short time I leave the cellar where Mortitx’s wine is made on the left.
After passing by the vines of the Cabernet Sauvignon variety, we come to a barrier with a wooden bouncer, where the public estate begins. A long road, uphill, along the track awaits us. But cheer up, because the goal is worth it.
Look left. What an olive tree! How old did you think he must be? Lots of! From ancient times, Mortitx was a possession dedicated mainly to the cultivation of olive trees, mainly of the graft variety, brought from Aragon by King James I after the conquest. Because cuttings do not take root easily, they must be grafted. Hence the name graft.
These olive groves form an invaluable part of the Sierra’s landscape, which should not be abandoned. So, bottom line is that we’re really looking forward to it.

An orchard in the middle of the mountains
We continue on our way and pass by a reservoir. Above, there is another. The construction of dams in the torrent of s’Hort des Molí during the seventies made it possible to create these two reservoirs. Although they are inside the public estate, they are privately owned. They have a canalization system to direct the waters towards the Sementer Pla and towards s’Hort des Cirerers.
If we extend our view, we have s’Hort des Molí on the right. Despite the place name Es Molí, there are no traces of any such hydraulic device. There was probably a water mill, which disappeared a long time ago. Here is a variety of cherry called sarrón, much smaller than the typical Mallorcan and much later. When eating this cherry caste, the stone is very clean. In the spring it is quite a spectacle to see the cherry blossoms.

The peregrine falcon, a real “living projectile”
After the reservoirs, the climb is a bit steep and any excuse can be good to stop to rest. We can look up at the sky for a while and, if we see a bird of prey crossing the sky with a fast, direct flight, it is probably the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), which nests on the cliffs of Mortitx. It has very good eyesight, so you can see its prey, birds it catches in flight, a mile away. Its flight is very fast: it can fly at a cruising speed of about 48 km / h, it can accelerate to 77 km / h in horizontal chase, and when diving it can reach 320 km / h. When it reaches the dam, it hits it with its claws and catches it in the air. But he doesn’t hunt even half the times he tries.
During the fall, the hunting of a hawk in a flock of starlings is spectacular; the birds are grouped in a large crowded mass that moves in the sky. The hawk attacks the herd as best it can, and it makes a hole and lets the bird of prey pass …
This is repeated over and over again, until the hawk grows tired or an unfortunate starling separates from the protective group. Then it’s made of him.

A stop at the Lavanor shelter
After this climb, we soon see an area repopulated in the eighties and nineties with pines (Pinus halepensis) and holm oaks (Quercus ilex). We are close to the Lavanor refuge. To get there, we must deviate to the right of our itinerary. This refuge house, with a single rectangular floor and surrounded by elms, is located on the site of the old Mortitx shed.
We return to the path and pass by a very large louse (Populus nigra), with an impressive stump, near the White Fountain. In the past, lice were planted next to a fountain so that from a distance you could see that there was a place to cool off.

The vulture, emblem of the Sierra
Mortitx, since it was acquired in 1978, has played a key role in the development of various plans for the recovery of species in an unfavorable demographic situation, such as the black vulture (Aegypius monachus). For this reason, from February to June, when the vulture breeds, we will end the way here, so as not to disturb it. So we can continue to admire in flight its majestic and dark figure, easy to differentiate from any other bird. Its uniqueness made it a symbol of nature conservation movements and an emblem of the Sierra.
If it’s not nesting season (July to January), move on. On the left are the remains of a village, possibly Talayotic, studied decades ago by Father Veny (of the Sanctuary of Luke), but which has never been cataloged. Right in front we have a good viewpoint of the Campet Rodó and, in the background, the Ariant estate.

El Sementer de ses Basses, a lonely landscape
And we go back up until we reach the Col des Ven t. What a landscape! We contemplate an eroded rock environment, with whimsical rake shapes, described by some authors as an almost lunar landscape. This karstic modeling has given rise to numerous cavities that result in environments very rich in endemisms, among which are numerous beetles.
The track will quickly take us to the finish line: the Sementer de ses Basses, a spectacular sinkhole. It is a depression caused by the surface dissolution of rocks. These holes are usually used to cultivate or, as in this case, to sow pasture for a small flock of sheep. In this place so difficult to work we can perceive the spirit of a unique mountain farm, already faded.
In this small mountain plain, lost among the immense rocks and carts, we will discover an extraordinary pond. It is a construction excavated in the ground, with thick walls that support a stone roof supported for centuries by an old olive tree trunk that acts as a beam.
And here, far from the hustle and bustle, far from civilization, at one end of the world, we end our journey. We will return by the same path.

Stages

Walking through the holm oak grove.
We have to leave the sanctuary of Lluc and go under es Porxets to go to the football field. We walk along a paved street and leave the school and the botanical garden on our left. Once on the football field, we have to cross it and on the left we will find a wooden bridge. We have to pass it and climb a small climb between the rocks shaped by the action of the water, under the tops of the oaks. This first section of the route coincides with the path of Comet des Morts. Shortly before reaching a roll of silo, just to the right, a small sign indicates the direction of a unique rock formation resulting from karst erosion where, depending on the imagination of each, you can see a camel or a turtle. It is highly recommended to deviate to spend some time observing the different types of erosive furrows formed by the action of water.
In this first section of the walk the species of tree that dominates the landscape is the oak (Quercus ilex). Its slow growth produces a wood of great hardness and resistance that was formerly used to make charcoal, to make the wheels of carts or the arms of carriages, the wheels of ferris wheels, the keel of boats, the pots where it was grazed. the bread and the beam of the oil mills. Oak bark, rich in tannins, was traditionally used to tan skins and dye. According to Andrés de Laguna (16th century humanist and botanist-pharmacologist): “The bark of the oak roots, cooked in water until it dissolves and applied to the hair all night, dyes them black.”

The viewpoint from Pixarells
We return to the path to the point where we deviated to see Es Camell and from there we continue up until we reach a fork. We have to take the path on the left (to the right we would go to the comet of the Dead). We leave the shade of the holm oak grove, towards a more open space, where we begin to see what is left of the old olive groves.

We find a viewpoint with two stone benches where we can stop to enjoy an excellent view of Sa Terra de ses Olles, which probably gets its name from the fact that there is clayey and reddish earth that was used to make pottery containers. From here we see a typical mountain olive grove, surrounded by Puig Caragoler, Puig Roig, Coll des Ases and, further to the right, Puig Budell (originally Montagudell; that is, Puig Punxegut).

Es Pixarells
After the viewpoint, the path descends a little, between pines (Pinus halepensis) and reeds (Ampelodesmos mauritanica) that now occupy the lands of an already abandoned olive grove, the margins of which still remain.
A little further on, before the path starts to climb a little, we will look at the rocks on the right until we see one with moisture marks and where a fig tree grows. If we look better at the wall, we can see that there are holes through which water comes out when it rains: they are the so-called Pixarells, which have given rise to the place name. Below the pixarells there is a cistern from which comes a small pipe ending in a faucet that flows into a small sink. We recommend that you do not drink this water as it is not drinkable.
Following the path, we pass by the remains of an old porch that was used by harvesters as an olive store during the harvest. The rest of the year served as a shelter for livestock, especially sheep grazing in the area. This construction did not have a fixed tile roof, but was made of reeds; if it was placed tightly, it could withstand heavy showers and the water would not drain.

Lichens as bioindicators
This can be a great place to discover the lichens that live on the branches and bark of holm oaks and olive trees. If we entertain ourselves by looking, we can see that on top they grow like gray-colored chins or like crusts clinging to the stump. These very primitive living things are formed by the symbiosis between a fungus and an alga. With this association, fungi provide the ability to store water and protection while algae make food through photosynthesis.
In mountainous regions the diversity of lichens is very high. We find them gray or greyish green, yellow green, yellow or brown; and in a wide variety of shapes, from crust-like coatings to lobed or branched, erect or drooping leaves.
Currently, air quality is measured by different chemical and physical analyzes performed with mobile or fixed stations, although air quality can also be measured by analyzing its presence or absence, and by the growth rate. of certain species of lichens. This is why lichens are said to be bioindicators, that is, organisms sensitive to variations in environmental quality.
In general, branched lichens are less resistant to contamination and those that look like crusts are more resistant. If we look at it, we will find the characteristic “monk’s beards” in certain forests and not in others; this indicates greater air purity. The cause of the sensitivity of lichens to pollution is their lack of epidermis. Because they do not have a protective layer, the deposition of pollutants prevents the entry of nutrients. In addition, they do not have mechanisms for removing pollutants, which end up accumulating and causing them to die.

Moss or bryophyte plants
After the porch, a little further on, the environment changes completely. In the summer we are grateful to be able to get back to the coolness of the holm oak grove, where we can take a while to rest.
Here, sitting, can be a good time to continue observing nature. In winter, what will catch our eye is the spectacular carpet of soft, moist, green moss that covers branches, trunks and rocks.
Mosses are abundant in humid and slightly sunny environments. These plants have no roots or a water-conducting system, and they capture it throughout the plant. Therefore, they can only live where the humidity of the environment is high.
Despite the floristic studies that have been carried out, much work remains to be done in the field of identification and ecology of bryophyte species. Like lichens, they are also very sensitive to air pollution.

Bats
We arrived at the recreational area of ​​Es Pixarells. From here, the panoramic view of the mountains offers us a view of the Puig d’en Galileu and, in the background, the Puig Major and the Serra de na Rius.
In this area you can see in the afternoon the flight of bats, which use the caves to hibernate, breed or rest. These are the only ones that can fly thanks to the adaptation of the forelimbs, connected to the body by a very thin membrane.
In the group of chiroptera (from the Greek kheír, “hand”, and pterón, “wing”), sight has suffered a sharp reduction, while hearing has acquired a preponderant role in their way of life. They are guided by an echo-based system that allows them to capture prey in the dark. They contribute to the balance of the insect populations they feed on and play a key role in the ecosystem. It is for this reason that their protection is justified. In the Balearic Islands, 19 different species of bats have been observed so far.
The path ends in the recreational area and we can return to Lluc by the same path.

Stages

On the etymology of the place name Fornalutx
This path begins in the village of Fornalutx. We can leave the car in the car park and reach the town square on Carrer Major.
Fornalutx is a charming village, full of mountains and nooks and crannies, in which it is worth getting lost before leaving for Sóller.
The origin of Fornalutx or Fornalugi, as it is written in ancient documents, dates back to the time of the conquest. It used to be a Muslim farmhouse, as we can deduce when we walk along the layout of its cobbled streets.
There are two hypotheses about the etymology of the place name Fornalutx: that it comes from the Latin radical FURN- with the double suffix x –al, utx = FURNALUCIU, which means “place of furnace, smithy”; or from the Arabic furn-al-lugg, which means “shore oven”.
We go up the stairs of the square and turn onto the first street on the left, Carrer de San Sebastián, which is always tangled. In front of us is the old inn of Balit. We turn left again and then we go to find the path of Joan Albertí Arbona that leads us to the cemetery. In a short time we find the wooden sign for the Binibassí road.

Folk art: Painted tiles
If we look up between the houses we will see old painted tiles popularly known as “corn tiles” that decorate the cantilever of many facades. The Sóller valley is where most buildings with painted tiles are preserved. In fact, Sóller, with 56 buildings, and Fornalutx, with 28, are the two municipalities on the island with the largest number of buildings inventoried with tiles painted on the roof.
The drawings are usually made in red forming geometric and plant motifs, elements depicting scenes from everyday life, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures, and religious themes. Drawings have no volume and are usually limited to silhouettes or outlines of figures. The decoration and placement of these ornaments was part of a construction ritual carried out normally by a single person and with a simple decorative process: first the tile was soaked in water and then introduced by the head. wide inside a mortar with lime. Then, without baking the tile, it was drawn with natural dyes dissolved in water. These pigments could be almond earth for red, charcoal for black, and copper oxide for green. As a general rule, the tiles are monochrome, although in the Sóller valley there are decorations with two and up to three colors.
Apart from the proper aesthetic and decorative value, the painted tiles had a symbolic and spiritual value, with the aim of preserving and defending the house and its inhabitants from all kinds of external dangers.

The oil of Sóller
Going down the path we see samples of the Sierra olive grove, a characteristic element of its landscape. Its maintenance is one of the main objectives of the Serra de Tramuntana Natural Resources Management Plan. High quality oil was obtained, and continues to be obtained, from olives harvested in early autumn. Consuming oil made in the Sierra contributes to the conservation of this beautiful natural and cultural heritage.
Since 2002, the quality of olive oil made in Mallorca has been guaranteed by the highest quality mark for food: the Denomination of Origin Oli de Mallorca. Mallorca oil is an extra virgin olive oil made with olives of the Mallorcan or Empeltre, Arbequina and Picual varieties.
Olive trees in the Serra de Tramuntana are planted on uneven slopes and land, and the configuration of mountain olive plantations conditions and hinders cultivation techniques: pest and fertilizer treatments, cultivation, harvesting, etc. Although the productivity of these farms is lower than in the Pla, the character of the oil obtained differs in that it has a sweet, mild taste and no bitter and spicy attributes. This is because olives are harvested when they are at a higher ripening point than olives harvested in areas of the plain.
Sóller oil, included in the Denomination of Origin, is one of the typical products of this town; therefore, we recommend you try it.

Trailer paths
The road soon ceases to be paved and the cobblestones of the old horseshoe path, which facilitated the passage of people and livestock, are exposed. Our path, which runs alongside olive groves, orchards, canals, fountains and washhouses, is part of one of the most extensive, rich and well-preserved road networks in Mallorca. Together they make up a historical, cultural and ethnological heritage of the first magnitude.
Long ago these roads were full of activity: the haulers brought to the valley all kinds of goods loaded on the backs of beasts: oil, tiles, kitchen utensils, groceries, carts… In addition, the haulers of Sóller and Fornalutx reached great fame for being a magnificent mountain guide, he appreciates ts for all those travelers who wanted to know our mountains, especially the Puig Major. It should come as no surprise, then, that in the map of Cardinal Despuig (1785) the image of a hauler was chosen to represent the town of Sóller.
Nevertheless, the life of the haulers was hard enough, if we consider that the hauler’s salary at the end of the seventeenth century was 27 salaries each month, which we can compare with the 8 salaries that a hen cost at that time.

Sulyâr, “the golden valley”
We soon find before us the group of houses of Binibassí, built on the same site as the Muslim farmhouse of Benibassim. This village preserves a defensive tower from the 16th century.
The canals we find next to the road served to bring water to the fertile lands of the valley and have their origin in the Arabs who lived in Mallorca until 1290. It seems that they were the ones who brought the orange trees to the island. The name Sóller seems to derive from the Arabic Sulyâr, “valley of gold”, possibly due to the golden color of the oranges.
The geographical isolation of Sóller led the people of Soller to establish commercial relations with Barcelona, ​​Valencia and especially with the south of France. Many of its inhabitants emigrated in the 19th century to France, where they founded export businesses of the exquisite Soller orange. Such was the prosperity that the city experienced with the remittances of the emigrants, many of them returned once they had made a fortune, that soon it had its own electricity network, the second after that of Alaró. In 1912, the Sóller railway came into operation, which facilitated communications with Palma; today it is one of the most endearing tourist attractions on the island.

Who lives in the springs?
Along the way we find numerous devices for capturing and storing water.
The springs, in addition to their immense importance to the population, constitute a habitat of high value. The entrance to the mine springs, the darker parts of the galleries from which the spring emanates, the natural cocoons, the artificial pickets, the drains, the laundries … are different environments, microhabitats, which favor certain species. of flora and fauna.
The most important proportion of animals living in the springs are macroinvertebrates, among which we can highlight amphipod crustaceans, distant relatives of prawns and crabs, and mollusks, such as small snails.
There are also animals that, without being exclusively aquatic, need water to complete their life cycles. Among this group we can highlight some well-known insects such as dipterans –moscards and muscardines–, ephemerals and odonates -snails and devil’s horses-.
We cannot fail to name aquatic vertebrates, such as the water snake (Natrix maura) and the green frog (Pelophylax perezi).

The water mill: a grain mill
Even though it’s half covered in ivy today, we shouldn’t overlook an old watermill. In the past, water was not only used for human consumption and irrigated. Its strength has been harnessed since the time of the Mayûrqa & gt; Muslim to grind wheat.
The mechanism of a water mill was simple enough: the water was captured at its source (source, torrent, etc.) and led through a ditch to the mill. It was dropped on the blades of a rudimentary turbine called a roller, which in turn transmitted the rotational motion to the wheels, which crushed the grain. Finally, each morning the miller distributed the talecs of flour made, while the miller was in charge of the operation and maintenance of the mill.
By the scent of orange blossoms or fruit we will know that we arrive in the village of Sóller. We cross the torrent Major and leave some laundries on the left. We continue walking for another ten minutes, now along the paved street until we reach Plaça de Sóller. There we recommend having an orange ice cream made in Sóller and enjoying the modernist church of Sant Bartomeu and the Banc de Sóller building, in the same style, designed by the architect Joan Rubió i Bellver.

Stages

Ses Rotes and the Puig de n’Escuder
The existence of this road is documented in the 13th century and can be assumed to have been part of the Muslim road network. In fact, the Sayt, descendants of enslaved Muslims, are documented in Luke’s archives as expert road authors. The gradual increase in the number of pilgrims who used this road, after the discovery of the Virgin, makes it one of the best documented in Mallorca.
Our starting point is the viewpoint of Ses Rotes, from where you can see one of the most beautiful terraced areas of the island, Ses Rotes de Caimari, declared a Site of Cultural Interest. Its origin is in the sharp increase in population that occurred during the nineteenth century. With demographic pressure, a new famine arose: land famine. The forest, the scrubland, had to be cleared, reach the most hidden corner of the earth, build more terraces, and break up the land, no matter how thin and stony it was. Precisely from this idea of ​​breaking, of plowing the land, arises the word and the meaning of rota: earth broken and put in conditions of cultivation. The parcelling of these lands allowed the Caimarians to access the status of small owners.
Puig de n’Escuder, located in front of us, is the setting for popular narratives in which history merges with fiction. According to an ancient legend, the verticality and height reached by the walls of this hill would have been used to build an Arab fortress on top. It is also said that a young and ingenious message managed to deceive and defeat a crowd of Arabs, who, one by one, would have thrown themselves from the top of the hill into large alphabets. They say that there are still remains of broken pots … Another version narrates that during the last phase of the Catalan conquest an Islamic group offered resistance to the conquerors until, evidenced by the defeat, they opted for collective suicide before surrendering to the enemy.

Es Cavall Bernat o sa Filosa de la Mare de Déu
Shortly after starting to walk, on the right hand side, between the road and the road, there is a more or less sharp rock, es Cavall Bernat. This name also appears in other parts of the island and always refers to more or less pointed rocks. The phallic form they have in common would explain its origin, a deformation of an ancient armed fuck that, euphemistically, would have derived from the current form.
The alternative name of Sa Filosa de la Mare de Déu is associated with the legend that told how the Virgin ran through that area and when she heard the pilgrims approaching she ran to hide in the caves of Puig de n ‘ Escuder. Once he fled so fast that he left the sharp edge where he was and, on his return, instead of the sharp, he found this rock.
Horse or sharp, in this rock we can look at two endemics, the rock violet (Hippocrepis balearica) and the broom (Genista majorica), both with yellow flowers and belonging to the family of legumes and which find protection in the vertical walls against herbivores.

Es Còdol d’en Seda or es Pedrolí del Gegant
A little further up, under a roll of shady oaks and next to the road, stands a large rock known as Còdol d’en Seda. Possibly due to its round shape, it has been said since ancient times that it was a macolin that some giant dusted off his shoe.
According to an ancient tradition, pilgrims, when passing by, threw between one and five stones in a hole in the base and if they guessed it meant that they would have good luck.

Sa Costa Llarga or Ses Passes de Gegant
Further up, after trying our luck at Còdol d’en Seda, we cross the Lluc road and begin to climb the Costa Llarga. It is worth stopping to contemplate the beauty of the cobblestones of the original path, while resting during the climb. The cobblestones are striking for their size, the stripes, long stones placed at an angle that allow the evacuation of rainwater that goes down the road, minimizing its erosive action. The steps of the road are very far apart, which is why some call it the Giant Passes.
If we look up, we will see the Puig de n’Ali, a place name from the Muslim era. It is 1,037 meters high.
At the end of the Costa Llarga we find the houses of Son Canta, which was formerly dedicated to the exploitation of the olive grove. We descend a few meters until we reach the recreational area of ​​Sa Coveta Negra, cross a bridge and continue climbing, now through the forest. One of the most characteristic and traditional activities that took place in the forests of the Sierra and of which we can see some vestiges here was the obtaining of charcoal. This coal was the main source of energy at the time and a very important source of income for the Sierra estates. The coal miners of the district built silos in our forests until the middle of the 20th century, when, losing the battle c against the new fuels, the coal miners left the ranches for good.

Sa Llangonissa and Sa Bretxa Vella
We continue on our way along Sa Llangonissa, so named because of the shape of the route, until we reach Sa Bretxa Vella. This is a bold step opened with barrobins at the beginning of the 18th century to avoid the dangerous Es Grau pass. To open Sa Bretxa, more than four hundred newspapers and a few quintars of gunpowder were used (each quintar corresponds to approximately 41.6 kilos). Scaffolded buildings and spectacular banks, built of mortar, had to be erected.

The Beautiful Woman’s Leap
The Salt de la Bella Dona hangs, frighteningly, on an impressive seabed in which the torrent of Es Guix or Comafreda flows after passing Sa Bretxa Vella.
Here arises undoubtedly the most famous legend, and perhaps the oldest of all that accompanies us on this pilgrimage route: a charcoal burner is deceived by an evil character (identified by some as the devil) who pretends to be his wife, who nevertheless he rejects it. In revenge, the suitor manages to convince the husband of the woman’s infidelity, who ignores the whole plot. Anger and jealousy mortify the husband to the point that he decides to kill the woman by throwing her down this precipice, along the way, which precisely takes the name of Bella Dona, emphasizing with this adjective, more than beauty, the spiritual quality of the innocent victim. The husband continues towards Lluc and arrives at sunrise, when they play the first mass. When he enters the temple, what a surprise it is when he finds his wife there with no wounds or holes!
From here the pine forest gives way to a thick holm oak grove inside which the path takes us downhill to the source of Guix, which flows fresh water, although not drinkable, and has a taste that honors in his name.

The neck of the Battle
We reach the road and cross the Comafreda torrent over a bridge that gives access to an esplanade where there is a service station.
According to history, the neck is named after an episode that took place in the early 17th century. At that time, a large part of the population suffered from continuous famines, was punished by the plague, was drowned by taxes and was subjected to struggles and social tensions. This context was very conducive to the appearance of banditry. Insecurity and crime increased outrageously and repression and fear spread everywhere. The exiles of the Selva gang, a powerful criminal squad, were a key part of this network. In 1618 she encountered the forces of justice and was defeated precisely in this place. The fighting ended with the imprisonment of fourteen bandits, some of whom were later executed.
Another possible origin of the name refers to the sound of the battle of the bells of Luke, which the pilgrim first heard when he reached this pass. Just past the pass, we continue towards the urbanization of Es Guix and look at a wooden sign that marks a GR. Along a section of the cart path, paved a few years ago, we begin the descent to the Lluc valley, which we will see in a short time.

Stages

Camí Vell de Lluc in Sóller
The starting point of this itinerary is in Sa Font Coberta, next to the Lluc car park, at an altitude of 475 meters. Our goal is to reach the 1,188 meters of Puig d’en Galileu. Therefore, we need to overcome a steep slope, which may at some point make us lose our breath.
The old path of Sóller begins in Sa Font Coberta, today marked as GR – 221. It is a cobbled, rough or horseshoe path that goes up through the forest of Ca s’Amitger until reaching the Ma-10 road ( Holiday cottages near Andratx- Pollença). Once we cross it, we continue on the other side along a road. We pass a hatch and enter the holm oak grove of the public estate of Son Macip, one of the most emblematic of the Sierra, where we can find, almost at every step, rolls of silage and huts, witnesses of the intense coal activity that used to take place. in this iconic forest.

Ses Voltes d’en Galileu and the snow house of Son Macip
The road ends at the foot of the Galilee Vaults. The place name refers to the bends that the road makes to save the 250 meters of elevation gain and the nickname of the one who built it, Antoni Català “Galileo”, who in 1692 undertook to make and re-build some snow houses in the mountain called the Mola located in the term of Lluc or Scorca ”.
Right at the beginning of the vaults, on the right we can see the first of the snow houses, the one in Son Macip, considered one of the oldest, because as early as 1619 it is stated that “snow was falling on Son Massip”. This facility for collecting and storing snow was one of the first to stop working.
We start the long cobbled loops with a steep slope. As we go up the forest disappears, which allows us to see the impressive torrent of Pareis, Clot d’Albarca under Puig Roig i Lluc with Puig Tomir in the background.

Galileo’s Snow House. Snowfall.
Half an hour of steep climb and we are at the top of Ses Voltes. This stop is mandatory to contemplate the landscape, dominated by extensive carriageways, with the sea as a backdrop. We continue walking along a plain and arrive next to Galileo’s recently restored snow house. The path, the porch, the walls and the margins are a great example of the installation of the snow activity.
The snowmaking process began by putting the snow closest into the well through the bombers (windows) using shovels, while to put the farthest snow it was necessary to use sports, signs, espadrilles and civeras.
When there was already a good thickness of snow inside the well, the snowmen would go down to scatter it and trample it. To do this, they lined up and made a spiral path; they started on the sidewalks and ended in the center, then made their way in reverse, until the snow turned to ice.
This process was repeated until the well was filled or until the surrounding snow ran out. The snow was then covered with a thick layer of reeds and the task of snowmaking was completed.

Snow transport
When summer came and the consumption of ice to preserve food skyrocketed, the haulers, with the beasts, went up to the wells in the dark, cut into pieces called snow loaves, wrapped them in reeds to insulate them from the outside and placed them on the carriers. Each beast carried two, which was called somada.
Transportation was done overnight to minimize melting ice losses. The ice blocks reached very distant destinations such as Palma, Manacor, Felanitx and Artà. Some older people say that the car arrived in the city and “everything was aigo”.
The fact that the work of snowmaking was preserved in Mallorca until the first quarter of the twentieth century has allowed some of the songs of work and glosses of the snowmen not to be lost. The next tune shows the joy of the snowmen when they return home after many days of hardship.

What was snow used for?
“Cold water is the most pleasurable medicine, and the most natural of all that pharmaceuticals possess and dispense.” With these words written at the end of the 17th century, the doctor Pere Martí praised the medicinal use of snow and cold water. Cold water and cold water have long been used to fight disease: fever – formerly called fever -, fractures, bruises, sprains, burns, inflammation and other ailments were fought using snow.
The profitability of the storage and trade of snow at that time was also due to the gastronomic uses with the production and sale of ice cream. An image in the streets of Ciutat very usual already in the 19th century were the small carts where the very popular aigo de neu or aigo gelada and the horchatas were sold. Snow was an important luxury addition to the good, refined upper class table.

The steppe blenera
After resting for a while next to the snow houses, we return to the road to find a pass where the landmarks fork. We turn left to go up to the top of Puig d’en Galileu. On this stretch of road, the steppe blenera (Phlomis italica) is quite abundant.
Its scientific name, Phlomis, comes from the Greek, phlox, which means ‘flame’, alluding to the use of its leaves as wicks for oil lamps. The popular name also refers to its use; a ble is a bundle of intertwined threads coated with wax or oil that form the fuel element of a candle. In the past, the leaves of this plant were used as blens.
This shrub endemic to Mallorca and Menorca grows in meadows and mountain slopes, sometimes in steep places, preferably in sunny areas and with nitrified soils, so it is often associated with the presence of pasture.

The rotaboc and the arrival at the top of Galileo
The cliffs on the right are home to several deciduous forest species, often relics of a colder era than today. It is a good opportunity to meet the rotaboc (Acer opalus subsp. Granatense). We will usually find it rooted and rooted in cracks, in the shady areas of the Serra de Tramuntana. The fact that it is a deciduous tree means that in autumn its leaves begin to turn yellow and acquire showy reddish tones. In winter it will be difficult to distinguish it from the rocky walls.
At the top, we can see that Puig d’en Galileu is an incomparable viewpoint over the north-western sector of Tramuntana. Here we can enjoy the panoramic view of the Puig de Massanella, the Coll des Prat, the Serra des Teixos, the Puig Major and the Serra de na Rius.
We will go down the same place where we went up. When we reach the point where the landmarks forked, we will turn right until we reach the landing, from which we will do the Voltes again, which now on the descent will surely not be as long as on the ascent.

Stages

On the way to the castle
We start the route at kilometer 18,150 on the Ma 2100 road (Bunyola-Alaró), where a sign indicates the start of the route that we will follow to the Castle.
First the track is paved, but we have to be careful because the current track crosses at different points with the old cobbled path that went up to the Castle. Suddenly, past the first coast, which runs between the high walls of the first neighboring estates along the way, we will see Puig d’Alaró. From here, things get trickier, and this is where the true meaning of life lies. It is surrounded by flat fields of almond trees. Soon, however, the slope of the road begins to become steeper and the oaks shade it and give it a mysterious air. From this point we can see how the slope is already a bare vertical wall of vegetation. Don’t worry, we will reach the top following the winding cobbled path that crosses the holm oak grove and clings to the wall until we find the only step towards the Castle.

The Castle of Alaró
The front door is the only access to the Castle on level ground and is the first defensive element found by the besiegers. It consists of a wall with a medieval portal with a round arch. On either side of the portal, we can see narrow, elongated openings called loopholes. There are three in all, and they are just wide enough for defenders to look outside and shoot without danger of being injured from the outside.
We cross the portal and continue up the cobbled path until we reach the second door: the Tower of Homage. People know it as the constipator, because at this point the air flows and after the climb you get sweaty. The left side of the tower was built taking advantage of the natural rock. Above the entrance portal, there is a kind of balcony, called a matacán, which was used to guard and throw stones and burning materials at the attackers when they tried to knock on the door.
We cross the tower and find ourselves on a wide esplanade. On the left, a path leads to a line of battlements that borders the western spur of the hill. Following the escarpment, we come to a third tower with a window with a direct view of the houses of the Orchard and a loophole on the south side. From here he enjoyed a defensive position and strategic surveillance.

Goat and Pond
Alaró Castle is one of the three rock castles in Mallorca – the other two are Santueri (Felanitx) and Castell del Rei (Pollença) – which were built in hard-to-reach places, far from urban centers and elevated to be good watch points. Its purpose was to serve as a refuge for the surrounding population in times of danger. It is certain that this place has been the scene of bloody battles since time immemorial. During the Catalan conquest, the Muslims took refuge there. But the best known episode is the story of Cabrit and Bassa, which dates from 1285. Guillem Cabrit and Guillem Bassa were two defenders of the Castle of Alaró who acted on behalf of the King of Mallorca Jaume II against the occupation of the island by the troops of King Alfonso of Aragon.
Legend has it that, when the army of the young King Alfonso besieged the Castle of Alaró, the royal officer of the army demanded the surrender of the enclosure in the name of Anfòs d’Aragó and Mallorca sworn in as king and heir. The poem El Comte Mal, by Guillem Colom i Ferrà, interprets the supposed dialogue that took place there. Guillem Cabrit answered the request for surrender on behalf of the defenders, angry and sarcastic:
-We don’t know any other king in the kingdom than King Jaume. In Mallorca -and forgive me- anfós is a fish that is eaten with allioli everywhere.
Alfonso, enraged, asked who dared to insult the king of Aragon. From the castle they answered: Two loyal Cabrit and Bassa
The king of Aragon answered impetuously: Goat, god? Good hunting! So how do kids swear to roast you for the traitor’s lesson!
Once the Castle was conquered, legend has it that Alfonso fulfilled his threat and Cabrit and Bassa were toasted live.

Around the castle
To the right is an esplanade where the remains of a large cistern are still visible, with a small pond on the edge. Following the perimeter of the cistern, there is a wall facing with battlements.
We leave the tower and continue uphill to the inn, on the left, still among oaks. As we climb, we have a breathtaking view of the valleys of Orient and Solleric and the Serra de Tramuntana. Clinging to the wall, grows the cabbage (Scabiosa cretica).
A few minutes later we arrive at the hermitage of Our Lady of the Refuge and at the inn of the Castle. From the inn there is a southbound path that forks in a few minutes. If we turn left, it takes us to the three cisterns and a rainwater collection pond. Water was very important during a siege, as it could not survive and without and if exhausted it meant surrender or death.
If we turn right, we reach the south tower or Prison of the Moors. The tower has a square floor plan and like the Tribute tower it also has battlements and loopholes. This tower served to defend the southern slope of the Castle

On the way to Alaró
The way back to Alaró must be made again towards the Homage Tower, undoing the ascent path. Back, the views change and we find the scene of the olive groves right at our feet and with the Plan in the background.

Stages

St. Peter’s Torrent
We start the itinerary in Esporles. We take the cobbled street that from in front of the Town Hall, and by the side of the church, takes us in a few minutes uphill outside the village.
The path passes between high dry stone walls, shaded by lush vegetation that grows spurred by the high rainfall of the town. After passing the initial coast, we reach a plain where on the right we see large fields of almond and carob trees and the Son Cabaspre mill (618 m) in the background.
Later, the path crosses the road over the Sa Turbina bridge, which crosses the Esporles or Sant Pere torrents, and continues parallel to the road and the torrent for a good stretch.
The Sant Pere or Esporles torrent rises in the Puntals de Planícia, crosses the Superna valley until reaching the Granja and crosses the whole of the town of Esporles. Finally, it joins the Bunyola torrent to form the Gros torrent, which flows into the bay of Palma, near the Coll d’en Rabassa.
In Mallorca we do not have continuous streams of water, but only discontinuous ones and of very variable flow throughout the year. That is why the use of rainwater has been so important. Apart from watering, the water of the Esporles torrent has served over time two textile industries, the refinery of La Granja, a flour mill and a couple of bark mills (paper mill) . In fact, the name of this bridge comes from the turbine that used the speed of the water to move the looms.

Shore forests
Having crossed the road by the bridge, we enter a small riparian forest that grows on both sides of the torrent. Riverside forests are deciduous forests that grow near river courses. The species that live there need a lot of water to grow and therefore develop near torrents, where the soil from a certain depth is soaked with water.
The trees around us are tall specimens of lice (Populus nigra), elms (Ulmus minor) and ash trees (Fraxinus angustifolia) and even bananas (Platanus x hispanica).
Most of these species are considered introduced by humans and are usually accompanied by torrent-margin vegetation consisting mainly of thorny species such as brambles (Rubus ulmifolius), gavarrera (Rosa sempervivens) and spiny (Crataegus monogyna). others. Throughout the year we can find high coverings of proenga (Vinca difformis) with violet blue flowers.
We continue for about a kilometer, along the side of the road, until we find again a sign indicating the time left to reach Banyalbufar: just two hours. We cross the road again carefully and enter an olive grove overgrown by a young pine forest.

Ses Mosqueres and Son Valent í
The route ascends zigzagging inside the olive grove -currently invaded by pine trees- of the Ses Mosqueres estate, already on land in the municipality of Banyalbufar. The Camí des Correu crosses two of the most outstanding possessions in the area: Ses Mosqueres and later Son Valentí.
It doesn’t take us long to enter the forest of Ses Mosqueres, a thick holm oak grove in which there are many trees. It extends from the Puig de sa Vinya (438 m), on the left, to Sa Potada des Cavall, a few meters before the game with Son Valentí. From then on, it was called the Son Valentí forest.
The road is now quite steep and is the best preserved stretch. We can look at the rows of stones, called stripes, which each handful of meters protrude a little from the firm path and cross it diagonally. They play an important role in the conservation of the road: they divert rainwater to the edges of the road and prevent it from being damaged.
A barrier-free gate marks the entrance to the Son Valentí forest. A few meters before, in the middle of the road, there is a cavity in a rock that can look like a horse’s footprint — put your imagination into it! Legend has it that King James I’s horse left this mark by riding impetuously during the battles against the Arabs. What do you think? Did King James I pass through here?
The passage of the coal miners is evident along the whole path from the Post Office. There are many paths that connect the main road with the coal ranches, in the woods.
There are also many ranches with their own name, in memory of the owners of the concession, such as the rolls of Sutro, Mutxilla, a little later, and Puquinso, in the lower part of the Coll des Pine tree.
We soon reach the Coll des Pi, which passes between the Puig de s’Argenter (498 meters), on the right, and the Puig de sa Barca (582 meters), on the left. Now the path descends to the part between Son Valentí and Son Sanutges.

Banyalbufar
The stone path we follow leads to a paved track and begins to descend a steep slope between pine forests and olive groves. This valley where we now enter has been inhabited for goodn antic. There are many Talayotic remains that can be found in the three valleys that cover the municipality of Banyalbufar. The landscape we are now contemplating is due to the imprint left by the Arabs. The network of terraces and the complex system of capture and distribution of groundwater through drains and washhouses, known as ma’jil, allowed these lands to be cultivated and are the main Muslim legacy. In a climate like ours, where the rains are very seasonal, the need to store water to be able to dispose of it in times of drought is vital. For centuries, farmers have been using the slope to distribute water by gravity. For this reason, a complex network of ditches was built (the most important are the Dalt, Baix and Son Bauzà ditches) which collect water from the Vila fountain and distribute it to the large laundries; from these and through ditches, the margins are irrigated.
This exceptional availability of water has allowed, unlike other places in the Sierra, the banks of Banyalbufar to be used for irrigated crops such as vines and tomatoes. The Banyalbufar bunch tomato gave economic prosperity to the people of Banyalbufar: the export of this tomato to the Barcelona market bore the name of the town beyond Mallorca.

Stages

From Son Fortuny to Sa Coma d’en Vidal
As soon as I leave the car, the path (a forest track) begins with a steep slope. After about 10 minutes, we come to a fork. On the left is the path to Sa Boal de ses Serveres. A boal or boval was a stable where straw was given and shelter to the oxen. We turn right, pass by a water tank dedicated to extinguishing forest fires and continue up the Sierra des Pinotells on our left. From time to time we can take a look at the coast of the town of Estellencs, with the sea in the background, and take the opportunity to catch your breath.
A couple of bends higher, we pass by the remains of a lime kiln, where the calciners worked hard to turn the limestone into quicklime. We continue uphill and after a couple of laps some more cypress trees tell us that we will soon reach the houses of the Sa Coma d’en Vidal estate, which has been publicly owned since 2002. In front of the houses, there are a small building with a porch that invites us to stop for a snack.

El Coll de s’Esclop
We pass by the jumper on the left and, without leaving the path, which is well crowded with reeds, we come to a dry wall that marks the limits of the municipality of Estellencs and the Sa Coma estate. We throw down the wall, enter the Galatzó public estate and continue the climb along a well-defined tyrant on the right between pines until we reach an old threshing floor. A little further on you can see the ruins of the houses of s’Esclop, formerly used as a mountain agricultural center, when these lands were cultivated with great effort.
From the Coll de s’Esclop, the mill rises imposingly in front of us. The origin of the place name s’Esclop has often been related to a hypothetical resemblance of the shape of the mountain to the footwear called esclop. According to a hypothesis by Gaspar Valero, the place name mola de s’Esclop would come from the name mola des Clop. Clops are lice (Populus sp.), And these trees are still common today near the houses of s’Esclop and the Font des Quer.
Sometimes you can see a specimen of sparrowhawk or bald eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus) flying over this area, a medium-sized bird of prey nesting on the rocks of the Sierra. It feeds on a wide variety of prey: tudons and pigeons; small birds such as sparrows, starlings, swallows…, and also small mammals such as mice or rabbits. More often we will see the rock cap (Ptyonoprogne rupestris) flying near the escarpments where it finds food and nests.
When we reach the top, we will be able to see the mountain reed warbler (Prunella collaris) in winter, which does not shy away from human presence.

The top of the mola de s’Esclop
From the Coll de s’Esclop, to the right you can see a path that goes down to the Font des Quer. But we will go straight to the mill, ready to make one last effort to reach the top. We must follow the stone landmarks carefully, first walking among the remains of ancient terraces and then along a stretch of rock without a well-defined path. When we reach the top, at 926 meters, the landmarks lead us a little to the left and in a short time we reach the geodesic vertex where three municipalities converge: Estellencs, Puigpunyent and Calvià.
Going up here has a double prize. A magnificent 360º view with no intermediate obstacles and, about 100 meters to the left, lonely ruins full of history … and stories. These are the remains of the small observatory where the Roussillon astronomer, politician and mathematician Dominique François Aragó lived in 1808. In this hostile environment, Aragon spent hard days measuring the arc of the Earth’s meridian between Catalonia and the Balearic Islands. Aragon triangulated between Mallorca, Ibiza and Formentera to finish extending the meridian from Paris to the Islands.
But at the end of May the news of the uprising of the Peninsula against the Napoleonics reached Mallorca. In Mallorca, they took Aragon for a French spy, an idea based on their strange operations with fire and optical utensils on top of a mountain. An armed squad set out for the mill ready to capture the dangerous spy.
He could not leave the island and consented to be imprisoned in Bellver Castle, more as protection than as punishment. Two months later he managed to leave for Cabrera and then for Algiers.

Bad winter, a tenacious endemism
We descend from the summit by the same ascent route, in the direction of the Peña Blanca. We pass the pass again and the threshing floor until we reach, through the pine area, the dry wall, which is part of the municipality of Estellencs. We would return to the left along Sa Coma d’en Vidal, but we would not jump the wall but we would deviate to the right.
After about 30 minutes we arrive at a crossroads. We continue in the direction of Estellencs. On the right, almost all the way back, we see the Galatzó hill. The carritxeres (Ampelodesmos mauritanica) dominate the landscape, with some pines (Pinus halepensis), bushes (Pistacia lentiscus), junipers (Juniperus oxycedrus) and holm oaks (Chamaerops humilis) here and there.
In this stretch, you can see a pillow-shaped thorny shrub that lives in mountainous areas. It is an endemism that has small, elongated leaves, slightly narrower at the base. It is adapted to live in rocky places, with little soil and beaten by the wind. It is the bad winter or spinal (Rhamnus bourgeanus).
We follow the stone landmarks carefully, along a section without a defined tyrant, until we reach the ascent path to Puig de Galatzó. We turn left and always go downhill to the recreational area of Son Fortuny, where we can take a well-deserved break.

Stages

An itinerary to smell, touch, hear … perceive
After passing under the porches of the Sanctuary of Lluc, we take an asphalt road with the torrent on the left side. A few meters further on, we turn left until we reach the football field. We leave a wooden bridge on the left and take the old Camino Real, which connected Lluc with Pollença. We take the Ma-10 road (Andratx-Pollença) and turn left until we find a paved road with the welcome signs for the Menut and Binifaldó public estates.
Following the paved path between holm oaks and rocks, we reach the houses of Menut, we leave them on the right and continue the path until we reach the environmental education center of Binifaldó. We will leave it on our right to follow the wide path, now unpaved, which runs parallel to the dry stone wall that delimits the fences of crops next to the houses.
But first we can go back and follow the route adapted for the visually impaired that goes for about a kilometer in the same direction. We invite you to do it, with your eyes open or closed, but, yes, with all your senses wide awake.
Here we can see which other senses are involved in the contemplation of nature. In the autumn we will hear a growl as we step on the leaves that the white lice (Populus alba) lose, and in the summer we will enjoy the shade that the oak of Pere, over 500 years old, gives us! Throughout the year, different birds will accompany us with their songs: the thrush (Turdus philomelos), the ferrerico (Parus major) or the tudó (Columba palumbus).
Let’s play guessing them! We can discover the toothed touch of the margin of the leaves of the bordu (Rhamnus ludovici-salvatoris) and how the leaves of the lemon steppe (Cistus monspeliensis) are clinging. After running your hand through rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), smell it, it has an unmistakable aroma.

Walking to the Mountain Fountain
After a slight climb we reach the Binifaldó pass (598 m), from where we can enjoy a magnificent view of the bay of Pollença. And if the day is clear, you can even sometimes sense the silhouette of the island of Menorca. We pass by a gate that separates the public estate of Binifaldó from the possession of Muntanya, a private estate, and we go down the old horseshoe path until we reach the source of Muntanya, where pilgrims stopped to cool off when they went to Luke.
Next to the mine of this fountain, a table and a stone bench invite us to sit down to rest for a while.

Lluc’s Daisy and Fern
Before setting out again, we can take the opportunity to meet a plant that is looking for places like this to grow, places that are a bit humid: the daisy (Bellium bellidioides). It is small, and if it is not spring, we will not find it in bloom, and we may have to limit ourselves to see that the leaves are a little rounded and are grouped in a rosette at the base of the plant.
In the vicinity, the fern of Lluc (Pteridium aquilinum) is quite abundant and will not go unnoticed because it can reach a meter in height. The leaf, which in the case of ferns is called a frond, is very divided.
There was the belief that this fern bloomed, fruited and dispersed the seeds when midnight came on Saint John’s Day; that is why it was never seen in bloom and it was impossible to collect its seed. It is attributed medicinal properties, but it is said that it must be collected in the vicinity of Lluc in order to be effective. This belief is reflected in the “Mallorcan Rondaies” of Mn. Alcover, has no scientific basis, as ferns reproduce by spores, which are found on the reverse of the leaves.

Walking through the holm oak grove to the Marc Valley
We enter the holm oak grove, where the almost absolute lack of undergrowth is sure to catch our eye. After a few bends, we come to a wide paved road that will lead us to the Fondo de Muntanya torrent and the Marc valley, where fig, almond and orange groves dominate the landscape.
This valley marks the opening of the Sierra to the coast and separates two large mountain ranges. If we turn south, we see the Puig de Ca de Míner (887 m, the maximum altitude of the municipality), the Cuculla de Fartàritx, the Moleta and the Moletó, reliefs that act as buttresses of the Puig Tomir. On the other mountain block, located north of the Marc valley, are the Puig de Can Massot, the Puig Gros de Ternelles (the second highest in the district, with 839 m) and the Puig de l’Esbaldregat. .

The story of Balaixa d’Algatzení and Ben-Nassar de Beni-Gigar
Before the conquest, on the land we now call Son Marc, which gives its name to the valley, was the Saracen farmhouse of Beni-Gigar, where the heir Ben-Nassar lived. He fell in love with Balaixa, daughter of the neighboring farmhouse of Algatzení, today Can Guilló. But his pares did not approve of this relationship, and Balaixa fell ill with love. In delirium, she said that only Beni-Gigar’s almond blossoms could cure her. His father was worried, because there were still months for the almond trees to bloom. Balaixa, however, insisted. Then his father decided that if Ben-Nassar brought him a bouquet of almond blossoms before the full moon had passed, he would give his consent for his wedding.
Ben-Nassar suffered because he thought almond trees would never bloom before the full moon. And he will cry under the branches of one of Beni-Gigar’s almond trees. Then a nightingale, when he saw the white flowers open, sang:
The almond tree, so flowery, is a veil of bridesmaids; and by the maiden, the sky open before her soul.
Balaixa and Ben-Nassar eventually married. In Pollença we can find a street dedicated to Balaixa. With the rumors of this beautiful legend we arrive at the Pi de Son Grua, a tall pine tree that rises at the junction of the old road with the Ma-10 road (Andratx-Pollença). We continue along a strip more or less parallel to the road along the Son Marc torrent. Banana trees (Platanus sp.), Shepherd’s cherries (Crataegus monogyna) and brambles (Rubus ulmifolius) are abundant in this stretch of road. A little further on we cross a pedestrian bridge, called the Barqueta pass, and without any difficulty we reach Pollença.

Stages

Banyalbufar: terraces and laundries
We start this pleasant walk by the sea on a small esplanade where we can leave the car, located at kilometer 85.2 of the Ma-10 road from Andratx to Pollença. From this point we have an excellent view over the town of Banyalbufar and its terraces. Water piping systems, laundries and mine springs are very abundant and complex. Well-cultivated terraces favor infiltration and prevent erosion, and vegetables and vines are grown on them just as they were a long time ago.
We follow the wide cart and dirt road. In a few minutes, near a modern cistern and without any interest, we find a fork in the road that goes to the right and that we must ignore. Along the way we find signs of an ancient cobblestone, surrounded by a mixed forest of pines (Pinus halepensis) and holm oaks (Quercus ilex), with olive (Olea europaea var. Sylvestris), bush (Pistacia lentiscus) and some specimens of sieve (Chamaerops humilis). In five minutes we find an open metal barrier, with a jumper on the left, and a few meters later a crossroads appears and we have to take the right. Now, holm oaks are becoming more sparse and arbutus trees (Arbutus unedo) and peterrell (Erica multiflora) are taking center stage.

Pinworms, crooked beaked birds
In a few minutes we find on the right of the road there is a slightly marked path which we have to leave and follow to the left. If we look at it, we can intuit the remains of old terraces, well evidenced by the old carob trees that are interspersed in the forest. The birds will accompany us throughout the year: the capercaillie (Sylvia melanocephala), the passerine (Troglodytes troglodytes), the finch (Fringilla coelebs), the ferrerico (Parus major), the white-tailed deer (Regulus ignicapillus) … and during the winter we will see abundantly the rupit (Erithacus rubecula) and the thrush (Turdus philomelos). There is a species that will not leave us all the way and will watch us from any pine, the pineapple (Loxia curvirostra). This bird, with the appearance and behavior of a lloret, feeds on the pine nuts it extracts from the pine cones of the white pine with the help of its powerful crooked and intertwined beak in the shape of tongs. Females are green with a soft tingling on the belly, flanks and back, while males exhibit an intense, striking red. We will surely hear them singing as they move through the pines and, stopping their ears a little, we will hear them pinching their pineapples with their beaks.

El puig de ses Planes i un redol de quers
On the left the presence of the sea is evident and on our right we are accompanied by whitish rocks, which correspond to the Puig de ses Planes. After half an hour of walking we find a roll of silo and a very peculiar coal hut, which was built using a large rock or quer. The characteristic reed hat has recently been rebuilt. We will also see the remains of an old stone house. The path is still wide and runs along a cobbled and bordered edge with important stone spittoons.
The path climbs gently and large blocks of stone can be seen. The pines are scattered everywhere among the pine forest and it is difficult to clarify whether the pines support the pines or if it is the other way around. These rocks seem to have their origin in ancient landslides on the Puig de ses Planes, and have given rise to an original and extraordinary landscape.
After about 40 minutes from the start, we find on our right a very large lime kiln, excavated in the rock almost entirely. From here, the bushes gain ground in the pine forest and the path begins to descend. Now the path narrows and we will pass under the collapse of the rocks of Es Corral Fals, from where we will have an excellent view over the tip of s’Àguila, a spur with a configuration of its characteristic strata, which enters to lick. With a little luck we will see the fast flight of the falcon (Falco peregrinus) with volition through these escarpments.

Narrow-leaved buckthorns and sea urchins
We continue down the path and in a curve we have a panoramic view of the tip of Sóller, na Foradada and the watchtower of Son Galceran. We also see the urbanization of Port des Canonge. Our path leads to a paved track that enters to the right inside the Son Bunyola estate. The houses on the estate are in front of us. We follow the track to the left and after three curves we reconnect with a dirt road.
This route is special because of the great visual impact of the geological formations we find. To the right of the path we can see an interesting sample of layers arranged vertically. If we stop to think about the geological forces that have had to act to move these horizontal deposits towards verticality, we will surely be amazed.
From here, things get trickier, and this is where the true meaning of life lies. we will see that the earth is of a worm ll intense. This siliceous, low-carbonate soil makes the vegetation that appears special: we still have pines, but the undergrowth is basically made up of narrow-leaved buckthorn groves (Phillyrea angustifolia) – olive-like shrubs with small olive trees. heather (Erica arborea) and myrtle (Myrtus communis). As a curiosity, we can find myrtle with the typical black fruits, and myrtle of white fruits. This last coloration is due to a genetic modification that produces enzymatic alterations. The fruits of the buckthorn and myrtle feed the little birds in the fall. Tuesdays (Martes martes) are also big consumers of murtons.

Pines falling into the sea
To our left is a ledge called Punta Roja, in clear reference to the color of its rock. Here, as in other places on the north coast of Mallorca, the pines come to touch the sea. The storms and the consequent erosion and loss of soil are uprooting them, and even kill them and dump them into the sea. The force of the wind and the sea spray are also responsible for shaping the vegetation, and the mortars and buckthorns take the form of pillows.
We continue walking by the sea and leave a hatch on the left with a wooden barrier on the right. We pass by the remains of toilets made of stone and in a few minutes we reach a torrent that flows into the beach of Son Bunyola. The path turns to the right and climbs some steep steps in the rock and all of a sudden to the left and takes us to cross a second torrent that at certain times can carry water and you have to be careful not to fill. In a few minutes we find ourselves on an esplanade without vegetation and, after crossing it, we arrive at the Port des Canonge. Through a few steps we can access a viewpoint over the cove of the port. From here we can find a few alcoves or escarpments on the right and in another corner on the left, some ramps made of wooden bars where to take the boats. When we find the asphalt, we have in front of us the town center, with the oldest houses and the urbanization below. From this point, and after a little rest, we will return to our steps to the starting point.

Prehistoric pebbles, sharpening stones and saurians
On the beach of Son Bunyola we will not find sand; it is a typical pebble cove on the north coast of Mallorca. Pebbles are eroded stones, fragments of rock shaped by the waves day after day. The friction between them rounds them off and kills the angular edges to achieve these round or elliptical shapes, smooth and smooth. The force of the waves of the northern storms brings to the surface larger pebbles, and depending on the state of the sea, the appearance of the cove will be different, with larger stones sometimes and smaller others .
Among these pebbles, we will find some of reddish color and rough touch. They are fragments of sandstone from quartz and red silt deposits called Buntsandstein. These rocks are very old, from the Lower Triassic, about 250 million years old. They are very interesting and seem to contain ichnites (fossil footprints), most likely attributable to small Cheirotherium saurians, ancestors of dinosaurs. You can see a large slab that shows these footprints in the Guillem Colom i Casasnovas building of the University of the Balearic Islands.
Our godparents know these rocks as “sharpening stones”; its nature of quartz stoneware makes it useful, if bathed with water, to cut the knives. With a little luck we can still see in some house a sharpening stone made of this material.

Stages

The landscapes of Galatzó
We arrive at the estate by the Ma-1032 road that connects Es Capdellà with Galilea. At approximately kilometer 2, there is a detour to the left that takes us, after 600 meters along a dirt road, to the entrance of the estate.
The landscape of the estate is dominated by the presence of Puig de Galatzó, which with its 1,025 meters of height is visible from all corners. Our itinerary runs in a northerly direction towards the valley between the mountains of s’Esclop and Puig de Galatzó.
To start the walk, we stand in front of the houses of the property and head towards the façade on the right. We pass by the beamed porch and we come across the dry stone path that we have to follow. Along the way we will find orange landmarks.
The road crosses a seedbed dedicated to the cultivation of rainfed trees and pastures. Human activity over time has shaped the landscape of the estate as decisively as natural factors. In this first section, the flat topography is ideal for traditional dryland crops; on the slopes of the Galatzó, the human footprint is present in the terraces dedicated to the cultivation of the olive tree, today invaded by pines, and in the forests, in the coal ranches.
To the right of the path is the forest of Sa Madona and, to the left, the Puig des Senyor, 281 meters high. We come to a crossroads, and our itinerary continues to the right. If we continued to the left, the path would take us to the source of Sa Cometa, where there is a source of mine and some tables to rest or eat a little.

The comellar de na Llaneres and the uses of the forest
From here the path enters a comellar known as de na Llaneres. Lime kilns and coal ranchers will be frequent on both sides.
Coal miners made charcoal from forest firewood and then sold it to neighboring villages as fuel. They leased to the lord of the estate the plot of forest from which they could extract the firewood and where they could build the roll of the silo. Many times the payment was made in kind: firewood in exchange for coal.
The silo roll is a circular, flat construction, resembling a small era, made of stones filled with small boulders and covered with earth. Pieces of firewood were piled on top of this circle to burn. Very close to the roll they built their hut to be able to take refuge. They were very simple constructions of dry wall and reed roof with a single opening, the portal, oriented towards the roll to be able to guard the silo. The cooking lasted between a week and ten days.
In this area, near the silos, there are two lime kilns. The calciners will find here all the elements necessary to produce lime: limestone (living stone) and firewood. The proximity to the Galatzó torrent also ensures water supply.

The comet of the Red Cave
The path continues parallel to the torrent as the terrain becomes steeper. The vegetation has also changed: we have left the forest behind and now what dominates are the grasshoppers (Ampelodesmos mauritanica) and the holm oak (Chamaerops humilis). Still, we continue to find charcoal ranches and lime kilns. If we consider that both elements were always built in places where firewood and stone abounded, we can think that in the past there had been a forest in this place. Overexploitation and the effects of a fire have probably caused this change.
A little further on, without leaving the path, we find a coal ranch that was restored by the Galatzó Employment Workshop School in 2007. There is also a recreational area.

Routes and routers
The path continues to Ses Sínies, where we find a new ethnographic complex consisting of a charcoal burner’s hut, a roter’s hut and a silo roll and, a little further on, a well with a drinking trough.
A roter was a person who was given a piece of land (the rota) on someone else’s property to exploit for several years. Every year, the roter had to give the owner of the property a part of the product of the route or in return he had to do garrigue cleaning tasks or fix margins.
Routes are usually unfertile land or far from possession houses. The remains of the houses that have been preserved make us think that the life of the roter must have been very hard. They had only simple dry stone huts with a fumeral as the only luxury

The vegetation of the Galatzó Valley
To the right of the well, a signpost points us to the viewpoint of Ses Sínies. From the viewpoint the views are very interesting. From left to right, we look at Ses Males Roques, the Comellar des Lladres, the Moleta Rasa, the Puig de Galatzó and the Sierra de na Burguesa; at our feet, the Galatzó valley.
The dominant vegetation is now made up of shrubs such as chamaerops (Chamaerops humilis), autochthonous palmctona of small dates with astringent properties; juniper (Juniperus oxycedrus), with sharp green leaves, and olive (Olea europaea subsp. sylvestris), with silvery leaves. Lilies such as sorrel (Smilax aspera) are widely grown as good seedlings. Black steppe (Cistus monspeliensis), fragrant rosemary (Rosmarinus officiinalis) and heather (Erica arborea) are also abundant.

The peaks of the Galatzó estate
Once we have enjoyed the view from the viewpoint, we go back to the well of Ses Sínies. From our left starts a signposted tyrant that takes us to the town of navetiformes of Ses Sínies. It is a town from the Bronze Age, dating from between 1700 and 900 BC, and formed by stone constructions in the shape of an elongated horseshoe (nave). Its function was to serve as housing. Only one of the structures is easily identifiable cable, as the rest is overgrown with vegetation. However, the scattered remains have allowed experts to assume that in this place there had been a fairly large permanent population.
From here we can connect with the two itineraries, also signposted, which lead to the summit of s’Esclop and the summit of Galatzó, a variant of the GR-221.
Puig de Galatzó and Mola de s’Esclop are the first two great southern peaks of the Serra de Tramuntana. Both are characterized by numerous plant endemics, such as the four-leaf clover (Lotus tetraphyllus) and the spinal or winter hardy (Rhamnus bourgeanus).

Stages

Magic forest
The entrance to the Gabellí Petit estate is right next to the old hermitage of Sant Miquel, located less than a kilometer from the town of Campanet. The path runs along the Sant Miquel torrent between fields. On the left we can admire the houses owned by Gabellí Gran i Petit, which used to manage both estates.
The path forks at about 30 meters, both branches will take us to where the springs spring, but the path on the right is flatter. After walking for 20 minutes, we reach a bridge that crosses the Teló torrent. Once you reach a sandstone gate, the holm oak grove begins.
This shady and humid forest, with lush vegetation, takes us to a world of fairy tales full of magic and little treasures to discover during the different seasons of the year. We will follow the marked path so as not to disturb the species that live in the holm oak grove.
The oaks (Quercus ilex) are accompanied by an undergrowth of bushes (Pistacia lentiscus), arbutus trees (Arbutus unedo), myrtles (Myrtus communis), light bulbs (Rhamnus alaternus) and brambles (Rubus ulmifolius). Here and there, the branches are adorned by the climbing vine (Smilax aspera), which grows on thorny vines, and by the attractive vidalba (Clematis cirrhosa var. Balearica). In spring the delicate flowers of pork bread (Cyclamen balearicum) raise their heads among the leaves. On the banks of watercourses, the forest is enriched and holm oaks are mixed with vegetation more typical of riparian vegetation, such as elms (Ulmus minor) and ash (Fraxinus angustifolia).
It is in this tight branch where a large crowd of birds is at ease. We will surely be surprised by the squeak and the tac-tac of a little hawk (Sylvia atricapilla) and we will not have to wait for a group of young birds (Regulus ignicapilla), which will delight us with their sharp and fine singing and their acrobatic moves to catch tiny insects from the leaves of holm oaks.
In the undergrowth, the king is the passerine (Troglodytes troglodytes), and its nest will surely go unnoticed, in the shape of a bubble and lined with moss and lichens, an excellent mimetic work. The finches (Fringilla coelebs) can be found singing everywhere and almost always grazing on the ground looking for seeds, insects, fragments of acorns … If we listen carefully, we will hear someone stir the leaves from the ground, the mystery is solved when the cry of the alarm of the honeysuckle (Turdus merula) resonates in the forest when it is surprised.

Ufanes Sources Interpretation Center.
The path takes us without possible detour to the old sestadores of the estate, which have been used as an interpretation center. Inside the center we will find an audiovisual room, a temporary exhibition hall and public toilets adapted for people with reduced mobility.
Leaving the interpretation center, on the right a sign indicates two points of interest: a talayot, a testament to the ancient human occupation of these lands, and the Biniatró torrent.
Only the cover of the old talayot ​​is preserved, consisting of three large slabs, and the rest of the stones are already piled up without any shape. One can only intuit that it must have been quite large. We can see that the builders worked with very large stones that were difficult to move.
If we continue this path for a couple of minutes, we reach the Biniatró torrent, which collects the waters of the slopes closest to the Serra de Tramuntana that mark the boundaries of the municipality of Campanet with those of Escorca and Selva, such as Sa Carrasca (477 m), the Sierra de Pas d’en Bisquerra and the Puig de Ca de Son Monjo (271 m).

The hidden path of water
If we continue on the path on the left, we soon reach one of the most spectacular points from where the Ufanes springs spring in the days that break.
Why is this phenomenon so spectacular? The hydrogeological basin of the springs occupies an area of ​​46 square kilometers, with very permeable limestone rocks at the top and little permeable at the deep part. In the southern part of this basin there is a fault or fracture of the terrain, of NE-SW alignment, which is the limit of the permeable massif with impermeable rocks.
When it rains, water infiltrates to the groundwater level of the aquifer, so that rocks, pores, fissures and caves become saturated with water. Because the lower part of the aquifer is surrounded by impermeable material, water is stored in it and does not infiltrate. It raises the water table of the aquifer until it reaches a point, after heavy rainfall and collecting water from the entire basin, in which the aquifer can no longer store more. Then the water comes out torrentially through the rising points. These points are in line along the lower elevations of the terrain where the fault is located. The two main springs are the Ufana Grossa and the Ufana Petita. When it rains a lot, the outcrop is abundant enough, the water thundersba other fissures and small starting points, bushes and crevices all over the holm oak grove.
Once the aquifer is discharged, the groundwater level drops below these outside outlets and the springs stop flowing until subsequent episodes of heavy rainfall.

From Les Ufanes to s’Albufera
The water from the Ufanes springs flows agitated by the Teló torrent and joins the hermitage of Sant Miquel with that of the Biniatró torrent and that of other torrents that drain the area, so that it gives rise to the homonymous torrent ( of Sant Miquel). From here, it passes towards the plain of Sa Pobla, crosses fields and loads the aquifers of the hydrological basin until reaching the Natural Park of s’Albufera de Mallorca.
The riparian vegetation of the Sant Miquel torrent reduces the flow of water, which favors infiltration into aquifers and prevents erosion and soil loss. Arriving at s’Albufera, it joins the Muro torrent and Sa Siurana. Part of the water is discharged into the sea through the main canals, while the rest is distributed through the secondary canals and denies the wetland. This water will also reach the sea, but it will do so more slowly, so that it allows the sustainment of all the biological cycles that occur in this wetland. The water infiltrating into the aquifers supplies the wells and gives rise to springs called tusks which also increase the water level in the Park.

Dry Mail
We follow the path, which soon takes us out of the holm oak grove. From here it descends with a gentle slope to the exit of the estate. To the right are the houses and lands of Gabellí Gran. Today they are engaged in cultivation and grazing.
The flat lands of Gabellí Petit beyond the holm oak grove are used for carob cultivation. The carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua) is a tree typical of the Mallorcan dry land, which grows in poor soils and does not need much attention. It has been cultivated since time immemorial and it is difficult to determine its origin
Traditionally, carob wood has been used as fuel. Its fruit, the carob tree, was used as animal feed. Today, it is used as a substitute for cocoa to make chocolate. The seed, the carob tree, during the years of the Spanish Civil War and the post-war years, in which the country was isolated internationally, became important for human consumption because it was made into coffee. Carob flour, a food thickener for ice cream, soups, sauces and soft drinks, is currently extracted from carob seeds. Phytate is also extracted, a substance with therapeutic properties that provides trace elements, amino acids and vitamins A and B. Phytate intake reduces the risk of kidney stones.
The path joins the branch we used on the way, so we return to the entrance of the estate along the same path.

Stages

Coastal vegetation
We start by making our way through a pine forest. As we go down to the sea the vegetation changes, and the grasshoppers (Ampelodesmos mauritanica), with some swarms (Chamaerops humilis), go up the slopes of the cliffs that we have left and right.
What’s interesting about this occasion is that we end up with plants that can live right next to the sea in such hostile conditions in this environment. These are plants that, in addition to the salt-laden sea swell, must withstand the lack of sun in winter, and withstand the strong sunshine in summer. Randomized genetic changes (mutations) result in morphological, physiological, or biochemical changes, or improvements in reproductive strategy, which has made individuals stronger and more resilient than they have been able to adapt to. adverse environments.
For example, sea fennel (Crithmum maritimum) survives in these places because it has fleshy, succulent leaves, and this allows it to store more water in the tissues. Thanks to this increase in the thickness of the leaves and the rounded shape they have, the surface of the plant is less exposed to air and loses less water. In addition, it is able to germinate even if the concentration of salts in the soil is quite high.
Another example of vegetation that we find along the way are the saladines (Limonium spp.), Which take the form of a pad and retain the leaves that fall into the bush, so that they create their own substrate. Thus, when they decompose, they provide the plant with the organic humus it needs. In addition, they manage to eliminate the excess salt by excreting it through the leaves and thus maintain concentrations that are not toxic to the plant.
Over the course of evolution, woodpeckers (Launaea cervicornis) have acquired a curious reproductive adaptation in the way they take advantage of the wind to disperse their seeds. This prickly pad-shaped endemism has its seeds surrounded by small feathers called villains. In this way, with a gust of wind, the seeds fly, they disperse easily, and some are more likely to reach a fissure with a little soil and be able to take root.
Another evolutionary achievement of this species is the reduction of the size of the leaves of this plant to prevent water loss.

Seabirds
Seabirds have also adapted to the extreme conditions of this environment. The interdigital membrane, a tissue that connects the toes, allows them to swim or move easily in the water. The waterproof plumage that covers their bodies allows them to take flight just out of the water. Many have glands in their heads near their eyes that remove excess salt, which they ingest with water and food. This adaptation is shared with sea turtles.
Seagulls are the best known seabirds. The one we often see in large groups is the yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis). Slightly smaller and with a red beak, it is the red gull (Larus audouinii), which is considered of special interest in the national catalog of endangered species. Unlike the first, it is not as gregarious, as it moves alone or in pairs. He likes rocky, low coasts with coves.
Another coastal bird that frequents islets and cliffs is the cormorant (Phalacrocorax aristotelis). We will easily recognize him by the completely black plumage in the adults and grayish with the white breast in the young ones. The plumage on the head during the breeding season is very characteristic. A characteristic of this bird is that it does not have waterproof plumage, so after fishing, it needs to dry its wings by spreading them in the sun.
From the sidewalk we may see some specimens of small snipe (Puffinus mauretanicus). This seabird is endemic to the Balearic Islands, and is usually seen in shallow water on the continental shelf where it feeds on pelagic fish. We see her flying over the water, almost always in large groups.

El Maressar. Coastal rocks
The path leads to a small esplanade overlooking the cove. A couple of steps separate us from the cove of pebbles. On the right is the steep Puig Fumat, and on the left, the hill of Catalonia. The cliffs of both have the maximum protection within the Serra de Tramuntana Natural Park, as they are exclusion zones. This means that fragile, threatened or representative plants or animals live there, which require specific conservation measures.
Once we are in the cove, we head towards the tongs that are on our left. Here we can see how, although it does not seem so, rocks are an ideal environment for the establishment and development of living things. They find a solid substrate to cling to, good lighting and lots of oxygen. The only downside is that they have to praystir the onslaught of the swell.
If we look at how the water reaches the rocks, we can distinguish two areas: the one farthest from the water, where only the splashes of the waves arrive when they break, and the one that is covered by water almost permanently. . These areas are called supralittoral and mediolittoral respectively.
The organisms that live in these areas are adapted to be able to withstand the force of the waves without being carried away and to withstand the periods when they are out of the water.
For example, black snails (Littorina sp.) Form small groups in fissures or small rock cavities. These mollusks secrete a mucilaginous substance that allows them to adhere strongly to the rock. This way they can withstand the impact of the waves and prevent drying out.
Another example would be the pagellides (Patella sp.), Which have a hard shell, pyramidal, but flattened and with a slightly sharp sidewalk. Each specimen is placed in a concavity of the rock on which it fits perfectly. From here, they travel short distances to feed on the carpets of algae that grow around them. These animals are firmly attached to the rocky surface by a fleshy foot that acts as a suction cup.
We also find animals that normally graze and feed in these areas, but migrate to submerged areas when conditions are unfavorable. For example, the puu (Ligia italica) or the shoemaker (Pachygrapsus marmoratus). Remember that the collection of sea snails, snails and crabs is not allowed (Decree 69/1999, of 4 June, which regulates sport and recreational fishing in the inland waters of the Balearic archipelago. BOCAIB no. 80 ).
Other species have a soft, elastic consistency so that they can oscillate according to the swing of the waves without clinging to the rock. This is the case with many algae, such as sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca) or seaweed (Fucus virsoides).
In contrast, the lichens that live on the rocks where the splashes of the waves reach grow well attached to the substrate and form a crust. This black horizontal strip that we can see on many cliffs is the lichen Verrucaria adriatica, which is so clinging to the rock that it is impossible to separate it without destroying it.

Cala Figuera, a place of community importance
Cala Figuera is included in the Natura 2000 Network as a Site of Community Importance (SCI). The Natura 2000 Network is a set of protected areas created by the Habitats Directive (92/43 / EEC) with the main objective of conserving European biodiversity. It consists of areas that house types of natural habitats and species of plants and animals considered of community interest.
The marine SCI of Cala Figuera was delimited by the presence of meadows of posidonia or algae of the glassmakers (Posidonia oceanica) and bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Posidonia grasslands are a habitat that the Directive considers a priority. They constitute one of the most important Mediterranean ecosystems. Their importance lies in the fact that, on the one hand, they are the main primary producer and, on the other hand, they make up one of the richest and most diverse habitats, as they provide refuge and food for many other species. Therefore, it is essential to preserve these prairies.
Bottlenose dolphins are frequent visitors to our shores. They are one of the cetaceans with the most coastal habits, which is why they are also the ones that suffer the greatest impact due to human activities.

Stages

From Qulber to Cúber
The route begins in the recreational area of ​​the Font des Noguer, at kilometer 33.8 of the Ma-10 road from Andratx to Pollença. We will see on the right a bouncer that we will pass carefully. After about fifty meters, the path reaches a dry wall and deviates to the left, going up a section that makes successive zigzags.
When we go up the coma of As Ases, and from above we contemplate the bluish green of the waters of the reservoir, it is difficult to imagine that in other times, these surfaces were covered with cereal fields.
The Cúber estate already existed before the Saracen domination. This place name, which formerly appeared with the spelling Qulber, predates the time of the Arabs, unlike the neighboring estates of Almallutx (Almelug), Binimorat (Benimoratgi) or Ofre (Alofra).
After the conquest of Mallorca by King James I, the term of the Mountains was the part of the island that the King reserved, and was distributed among the participants in the conquest. In the Book of Casting, it appears with an extension of fifteen jovadas (one jovada was an agrarian superficial measure that is equivalent to an extension of earth that a pair of oxen can plow in a day, approximately to 11.36 hectares).
Cúber, until the beginning of the 20th century, was a possession dedicated mainly to agriculture and extensive sheep farming. The agricultural uses were made at the bottom of the valley, where the best lands for pastures and the cultivation of cereals were found.
The flooding of the Cúber Valley in 1972 led to the destruction of farmhouses, orchards and seedbeds and, therefore, the disappearance of agricultural activities.
The management and administration of the estate has been the responsibility of the Government of the Balearic Islands since 1989. The Municipal Water and Sewerage Company of Palma City Council (EMAYA) is responsible for managing and maintaining the reservoir and the pipes that make it possible to supply water to urban areas.

From Coma des Ases to Pas Pas Llis
When the path reaches the ridge, we have to cross a dry wall through a barrier-free hatch. But first, it is necessary to stop to contemplate and keep in the retina the image of the mountains of the heart of Tramuntana. We follow the landmarks down the coma des Ases. In the pass, exposed to the action of the wind, we will find a good example of the typical vegetation of the high Mallorcan mountains, with the Balearic grit (Smilax aspera subsp. Balearica), which takes the form of a pad. Note that it has very small leaves; sometimes he doesn’t have one.
Large expanses of carts dominate the landscape. This plant community has been favored, over time, by the custom of burning it to obtain pasture for the herd, as the reed (Ampelodesmos mauritanica) burns easily and has the ability to regrow. Later we find patches of reeds and remains of holm oaks on cuttings, with a large specimen of juniper (Juniperus oxycedrus).
Shortly before reaching the Llis Pass, we can stop to observe some boxwood (Buxus balearica). This is a relict plant species, very abundant in the flora of long ago. Today it is included in the Balearic Catalog of Threatened Species and Special Protection. We recognize it by its oval, shiny leaves, sometimes of a damp green color burned by the wind and reddish in summer. Its hardwood was highly prized for making spoons and even for carpentry.

Towards the Green Tossals
We continue on our way until we reach the Llis pass. We will easily know what the place name is due to. It is not an extremely difficult step, as there is a cable installed that we will use to climb. It is said that from here, on the evening of Sant Joan, you can see the lights of the witches crossing a thread woven with gold from the Puig de s’Alcadena to the Puig d’Alaró.
Making small ascents and descents through a now more rocky terrain, we arrive at the olive grove of Es Tossals Verds, a sample of the right balance between nature and human uses. In a short time we come across a transverse path in front of a rock wall. We turn right along a wooden railing to the refuge of Es Tossals Verds.
At present, this place name designates the estate, the hill and the houses of possession. The word hill refers to a “not very high elevation of the terrain, or a very steep slope, on a plain or isolated from other mountains.” The adjective greens can be attributed to the coloration that gives an abundant carriage to an area where, since ancient times, there has been documented an important use of livestock.

No silos without firewood
The refuge of Es Tossals Verds, managed by the Consell de Mallorca, invites us to rest for a while. Recovered, we follow the indications of the GR-221 in the direction of the source of the Noguer. On the left side of the refuge, we find the cobbled path that climbs to the esplanade where the old houses of Es Tossals are.
Before we get there, we move on to the costate of a roll of silo where coal was made and a hut with a reed roof where the coal miner and his family lived.
These stone constructions remind us that not long ago the coal industry was of great importance to most of the Sierra’s possessions. The favorite places of the coal miners were the holm oak groves, as the oak wood has an excellent quality for making charcoal. As a result, we find the vast majority of silo rolls on the slopes populated by oaks.

Coma, torrent and font des Prat
We leave Es Tossals behind to enter the thick holm oak grove of the public estate of Coma des Prat. From stone to stone, we will be careful not to fall into the water to cross the bed of the Es Prat stream. Sometimes it will drink a small, round, stout (Regulus ignicapilla) with an orange or yellow feathered crest on its head and green wings with pale spots. More difficult to see, but easier to hear, is the chanting of the passerine (Troglodytes troglodytes). The nest of this bird is a moss bubble, also with cobwebs and feathers, which it often makes in caves and holes, hence its scientific name as a troglodyte.
After a short time, we cross the torrent again by a wooden bridge and go up until we reach a crossroads. If we want, we can deviate momentarily from our itinerary to reach the source of Es Prat de Massanella, of permanent flow, with mine and channeled through the Massanella canal.

Bordering the reservoir gutter
We return to our itinerary where we will find an indicator towards the Coll des Coloms. Here we can take a detour to access the Puig des Tossals Verds (1,120 m). But our path takes us to a cement canal, a sample of hydraulic engineering, which transfers water from the Blue Gorge to Cúber.
We once again enjoy the impressive panoramic views of the reservoir, the Puig Major, the Puig de ses Vinyes and the Morall d’Almallutx. It is almost time to reach the end of the itinerary.
If it is spring, the intense and bright yellow color of the argelagues (Calicotome spinosa) will accompany us on this way back. A repopulation made about thirty years ago with pine needles (Pinus nigra) is the sign that we are close to our starting point.
Before reaching the Font des Noguer, let us not overlook an oak tree that grows, lonely, watching the mountains.

Stages

The Sierra de Cúber and the inhabitants of the karst
We start the route at the entrance gate of the Cúber public estate, which we will find at approximately kilometer 34 of the Ma-10 road from Andratx to Pollença.
The property is located in the Sierra de Tramuntana Natural Park and the Natura 2000 Network, included in the Cimals de la Serra Site of Community Importance. A first look from the hatch reveals an austere landscape. What catches our attention without a doubt is the reservoir, which occupies almost the entire plain and is sandwiched between the nose of Cúber (951 m) on the left, the Puig de sa Rateta (1,113 m) in front and the Cúber mountain range on the right.
Our path continues to the right, towards the holm oak grove, then we have to turn left, following the path, towards the Puig de l’Ofre (1,093 m), which is at the bottom. We need to get close enough to the rocks on the slopes of the Sierra de Cúber to be able to appreciate the imprint of karst erosion. Karst is a form of relief originated by the chemical weathering of carbonate rocks, mainly limestone. Limestones are sedimentary rocks made up mostly of calcium carbonate, which is soluble in water. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere combines with rainwater to form carbonic acid.
When the rain falls on the carbonate rocks, the carbonic acid dissolves the carbonates into bicarbonates, and drags them so that they leave marks that draw strange figures, streaks, regattas and cracks that are grouped in the generic name of lapiaz and are they are popularly known as rellars or esquetjars. Thus, every time it rains, part of the Sierra dissolves in a very slow process.
The crevices of the rocks are colonized by plants capable of living with very little land, such as the polypodium (Polypodium cambricum) and the sea bream (Ceterach officinarum), among others. Come on in, take a look and enjoy yourself!

A little history of the Cúber plan
If we now look to our left, we can see that on the other side of the reservoir there is a house that is so close to the water that its reflection can be seen. This is the Cúber refuge, adapted for short stays.
Once we leave the Cúber refuge behind, we pass a hatch on the left that leaves us outside the public estate. We continue on the marked path of the GR-221. Here the valley narrows and it becomes more evident the ancient use that was given to these lands, as is the case of the crops on the slopes at the foot of Sa Rateta and na Franquesa. They are now invaded by reedbeds, but not long ago cereal fields were productive.
The Cúber plain, where we are, has been inhabited since ancient times, as evidenced by the prehistoric sites near the Cúber torrent cave and the Talayotic village of Almallutx. In fact, the place name Cúber, which formerly appeared with the spelling Qulber, predates the time of the Arabs.
After the conquest of Mallorca by King Jaume I, an extension of eight jovadas of the property of Cúber, was granted to Berenguer Ferrer of Barcelona and the remaining seven to Marí Ferrandi, military man of the infant of Portugal. A jovada is an agrarian surface measure that is equivalent to the area of ​​land that a pair of oxen can plow in a day (approximately 16 quarters).
From the earliest times, wheat, and barley and oats were sown. In addition, there were olive groves, holm oak groves and garrigues.
At the end of the 16th century, Cúber was a large cattle ranch that received many flocks of sheep from the Pla de Mallorca during the summer.
The Cúber Reservoir was built between April 1970 and June 1971, and the estate became public property in 1988 to protect the marsh basin. Currently, the management of the public property is the responsibility of the Ministry of the Environment, while EMAYA is responsible for managing and maintaining the reservoir.

Vulture sky
We continue the clearly visible path and pass the houses of Binimorat to reach, in about ten minutes, the Coll de l’Ofre. From here, if we look back we will see a splendid panorama of the reservoir with the Puig Major in the background.
We must not forget to look at the sky from time to time, because if we go upside down, looking at the ground, we may miss a beautiful spectacle: the silent flight of the black vulture. The black vulture (Aegypius monachus) is the largest bird of prey in Europe, about 100 centimeters long and 250 centimeters wide. It usually weighs about eight pounds, but can reach twelve. The color of the plumage is completely black, more intense in the young specimens and more chocolate in the adults. He has a head and neck with a light down. The beak is very robust and large. It is a very long-lived species, which can reach 40 years of age. It seems that when they form a couple, they live together until one of them dies. They usually nest on the top of a pine tree (Pinus halepensis), on a branch platform ues that build themselves.
Although it does not nest in these places, it is a regular visitor, perhaps because it finds the remains of animals – dead goats or sheep – that serve as food.

The Biniaraix ravine
From the Coll de l’Ofre, the horseshoe path descends, drawing a few bends, and in about 15 minutes it takes us to the Pla de l’Ofre. We cross the barrier and enter the most spectacular part of the excursion: the Biniaraix ravine. From here, the path appears paved and stepped (almost 2,000 steps!), So that it forms one of the most impressive works of popular road engineering in Mallorca. The ravine is a karst canyon facing west and shaped by the action of the waters. It is bounded by Puig des Cornadors to the south and the Sierra de Son Torrella to the north. This was the main communication route between the Sóller valley and the Ofre, Cúber, Orient and Santuari de Lluc valleys.
To the right and left of the road, another marvel: a whole series of olive groves, a testament to the tenacity and dedication of the people who have inhabited the Sierra over the centuries. The road gave access to all these marginal fields and its cultivators used it to lower the olive tree.

Dry stone constructions
The margins are dry stone walls that serve to obtain horizontal surfaces in places with a steep slope such as the slopes of the mountains of the Serra de Tramuntana. In this way, our ancestors found flatter and more suitable places to cultivate the olive tree.
Its importance is twofold: on the one hand, its undoubted historical and landscape value and, on the other, its role in retaining the soil and preventing erosion. The arrangement of the terraces is not random, but the result of the knowledge of the physical features of a place (slope, lithology, water network…), and, associated with these, structures were also built to channel rainwater with the in order to prevent it from damaging farmland, such as ditches and albellons, or cobbled roads.
The ditches are long, narrow excavations lined with dry stone that collected the water at the foot of the bank and drained it into the main stream.
Albellons are underground galleries that were built in places where water tended to get stagnant. First, they removed part of the soil and placed a layer of stones in it in order to promote drainage. Then they put the soil back on and it was ready to cultivate.
The cobbled paths are the most elaborate we can see in the Sierra and show that at one time they were an important communication route often used. The cobblestones are not usually continuous along the entire route, but are usually present on the steepest sections or in places where rainwater can do more harm.
The function of the cobblestone is basically to ensure the survival of the roads: on the one hand, as it favors the infiltration of water, reduces the flow and does not lower as much water, and on the other, as it has no strong enough to drag the stones, as it would with the earth, does not damage the layout.

Margins and biodiversity
Over time, the terraces have also become a refuge for animal and plant species. The cavities and fissures between the stones provide shelter for a large number of vertebrates, such as dragons and weasels, and invertebrates, some of which are endemic, such as the snake snake. Animal endemics come from species that colonized the islands from the surrounding continents and evolved in isolation, that is, without making any contact with continental species.
these spaces between the stones of the margins are places where some plants can fix their roots.

The path of the ravine finally leaves us in the charming village of Biniaraix.

Stages

From the recreation area to the coma source
The route begins in the recreational area of ​​Menut II, at kilometer 16.4 of the Ma-10 road from Andratx to Pollença, on the left of the road if you go in the direction of Lluc-Pollença. Once we are in the recreational area and located facing the road, we have to turn right to go look for a bridge. They pass under the bridge on the other side of the road. We need to notice that on the left hand side a wide dirt road begins: it is the beginning of the coma path. We follow this meat in an open plant environment dominated by pines. The pine forests have a rich shrub layer, where, in addition to the bush (Pistacia lentiscus), species that have a flowering full of color and aromas are striking. The lemon steppe (Cistus monspeliensis) abounds, with narrow, clinging leaves; the cypress (Erica multiflora), with pink bell-shaped flowers, and the unmistakable rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis).
And if we let ourselves be guided by smell, we will surely recognize one of the most emblematic shrubs of Mediterranean culture, the myrtle (Myrtus communnis), used by the Greeks as a symbol of love and peace. The name Myrtus derives from the Greek myran, which means ‘perfume’, because both the leaves and the white flowers of early summer are very aromatic.

The source of the Binifaldó coma
The path reaches a fork where we will see the source of the coma. It is an example of a mine fountain, a water catchment gallery that has its origins in the qanats built by the Muslims, who lived in these lands in the time of ancient Mayurqa. The place name Binifaldó clearly marks the existence of an Islamic farmhouse, if we look at the Arabic prefix biní-. Its etymology would be Beni Haldun, ‘sons of Haldun’
In a climate like that of Mallorca, where times of drought are important enough, the need to obtain and store water was and is of vital importance. For this reason, in the Sierra, constructions are quite common to obtain water. It begins by drilling a mine with a suitable slope to be able to find the aquifer or eye of the source. This is protected by a wall and covered with slabs or a dry stone vault. Its main mission is to hold the surrounding ground and above to ensure that the source is not covered with earth and that water does not come out. The mine is the most important part of the construction, as it is the connecting link between the source eye and the outside. The depth of the gallery to capture water depends on the distance where the eye of the source is located. We need to keep in mind that water from this source is not drinkable.
Do you see a picket? In the fountains there used to be a sink for watering the cattle. And if there was enough water, a pot, stone, or masonry gutter was built that carried the water to a laundry.

The Swamp of the Coma
Just past the source of the coma, we will see that the path forks. We have to deviate for a moment from our itinerary. If we follow the option on the right, it will lead us to an artificial pond that fills up from the Binifaldó torrent, known as the Pantanet de la coma. It was built of ash, conveniently covered and waterproofed, and is used to extinguish fires.
In the pond we find an important colony of frogs (Pelophylax perezi), and if we are careful we can see them especially in spring and summer occupying the sidewalks. At the slightest sign of danger, the frogs are submerged by making a characteristic poplar. The frog is the most abundant and widespread amphibian in the Balearic Islands, as it does not go unnoticed due to its diurnal, reindeer and gregarious habits. They are green or earthy in color, and even the color may vary in the same individual over time. They have smooth skin and long limbs, which make it easier for them to move in large boats.

Make coal in the silo
We return to the source and, from the coma refuge, the path begins to climb and the holm oak grove begins to be dominant. Not many years ago, with the elaboration of the coal in the holm oak groves the firewood was used to a great extent. The silo rolls you can see on the right hand side after a few bends are the coal miners ’footprint. Sitting next to these two silos and the hut, we can imagine what this place was like a long time ago. The description made at the end of the 19th century by Archduke Lluís Salvador in his Die Balearen will help us travel to the past:
From a great distance, in the middle of the solitude of the forest, the smoky piles where the oak is charred are discovered. It is hard and heavy work. Their faces yellowish with weariness and black with charcoal produce a spooky vision. When you watch them in the dark of night, watching as their silos burn, it’s easy to imagine them as if they were evil spirits, doing their infernal work. But when you get involved, you are always greeted with a smile …
Coal miners spend all summer in the woods:first to whitewash or cut down trees; then, to haul the firewood towards the silo, to compose it and to form the pile, to carbonize it and to lower the obtained coal. In order to be able to live for so long in the solitude of the forest, a hut with a reed-covered branch is built. So they spend long months leading a semi-wild life.

Discover mammals through their footprints
In these places, although difficult, if we don’t make a lot of noise we can see some of the carnivorous mammals in the area: the weasel (Mustela nivalis) or the marten (Martes martes). Both mustelids have an elongated body with short hair and variable coloration, depending on the species. The weasel lives mainly in agricultural areas such as olive groves with the presence of margins or stone snails, where it makes its laurels. On the other hand, Mars is a species more typical of mountainous areas, although in recent years it has been expanding strongly inland and in the south of the island. Sometimes, although we cannot observe them, we can see their presence from their excrement, which they usually leave on the roads where they pass. They are placed strategically, so that if we joined all the points where they are located, the territories of the dominant males would be delimited and, by means of the olfactory signals that they give off, the other members of the species would be informed that that territory is already busy.

Els Sivellins de Binifaldó
As we go up, the holm oak grove clears up to end in some old olive groves, where you will see the houses of Binifaldó between the Puig Tomir and the moleta de Binifaldó. This field is known as the Sivellins de Binifaldó, referring to the olive variety that has been planted there. This olive tree has the characteristic of making the olive very good, and though it is relatively small, it tastes exquisite; but when it comes to removing oil, the yield is very low.
We do not bother to reach the Camí Vell de Lluc in Pollença, where we turn right to go towards the houses of Binifaldó. Before reaching it, we will see on the right of the path the oak of Pere, a tree listed as unique that for more than 500 years has offered its good shade to workers, walkers and, today, hikers .
Just past the oak we can see a good view of some of the most representative mountains of the Sierra; from left to right, we identify Puig d’en Galileu, Puig de Massanella, Puig Major, Puig Roig, Puig Budell and, finally, Puig Caragoler de Femenia.
We return to the starting point along the same path, enjoying, now descending, the different environments we have discovered in this itinerary.