The Wild Side of Mallorca

Mallorca, for most, is a synonym of sun, the beach and neverending parties. It's also really well known by the thousands of road bikers that spend winter and spring months riding on its awesome roads. But for many, the mountain and its wild scenery are still unknown. Not for mountain bikers.

Spending 3 days doing the full traverse of Serra Tramuntana, its main mountain range in the North, seemed like a good plan. This route can be done (and I have done it) in 1 day or up to 3-4 days. You can start on both ends, either Pollensa or Sant Elm. This time we choose to start from Sant Elm. The goal was to avoid as much asphalt as possible following the GR221, a known hikers trail.



Some hiking involved to get to the best trails



With the help of a friend, we alleviated the weight on our backs, he would carry spare clothes and everything else each day to the pernoctation location. So on route we only had our usual backpacks with some spares and tools. The first day, Friday, we departed at 9am, nice weather, sunny and even bit hot at midday. The goal was to get to Esporles, a small village, not as known as Deia or Valldemossa but either way with some amazing landscape.

One of our companions had a big crash on one of the downhill sections. He didn't harm himself seriously but he prefered to go to the hospital with another friend of the group. While waiting for them to come down and later for transportation, the night was upon us, so from Puigpunyent, we decided to do the last 5km on asphalt. Wise decision as we got to Esporles right with last sun rays of the day.






The second day was expected to be shorter in kilometres, but more physical, with some long hike-a-bike sections but with rewarding descents. As it was Saturday some other friends met us in Esporles to join us for the rest of the day. It was cloudy, but no rain, that was good enough. Soller village was the goal of the day, with two big climbs and descents, the day would be long. The second descent, Cingles de Son Rullan, is known to be one of the best of the island, rocky, technical, exposed, with a variety of terrain and with around 800m drop to Deia, close to the sea. We arrived in Soller again close to nightfall, with enough time to shower, find a place to eat, have a couple of beers and quickly hit the bed to rest for the final day.





With a plentiful breakfast, the third day started with good vibes, it was somewhat cold and cloudy, but again the weather was great, no rain all day. Our last stop would be Pollensa, 54km from Soller. The first climb was long and hard, almost 1000 meter gain in a bit more than 9km. From here, some tarmac until Cuber dam and then another technical, rocky descent through Almadra tunnels. After some more hike-a-bike we finally got to Caimari, the key to Lluc area. At the end of the day, nearby the group choose to split into 3 couples. The last climb on cobblestones was hard and harsh. From here, just one last awesome trail and a bit of asphalt to get to Pollensa.





Three amazing days with good company, on the wildest trails you can find in Mallorca, away from Christmas never-ending "let's buy everything in stores" and crowded streets.

---

MENTIONS: @elyari

---

Posted In:
Stories Reader Stories