Mountain Hiking

Outdoor Mallorca aims to introduce you to the island of Mallorca through a series of hikes or walks, which have
been designed for both experienced and inexperienced hikers. The hikes are based mainly in the Sierra Tramuntana,
in a nature that is still not yet spoiled by human interference.

Sierra Tramuntana stretches more or less all the way from Andraitx in the south-east to Formentor in the north-west
and reaches heights over 1,000 metres in many places, culminating in the Puig Mayor at 1,445 metres. Many of the
mountain tops are almost bare of vegetation and its rough, rocky peaks seem to stretch from the deep sea to the
high skies above. Between these rugged peaks lay lush green, sparsely settled farmland and alpine lakes with an
aqua green surface, which gives a stark contrast to the Tramuntana mountains shifting colours from tightly grey-black
to warm golden-yellow.

The many hundred of the footpaths that criss-cross the Tramuntana were built as trade routes by the merchants who
needed access from the small mountain villages to the bigger market places in the cities on the plains. They were
also used by farmers who needed access to their terraces of olive trees, and by the pilgrims who wanted to reach
the remote holy places and the many mon- asteries in the distance mountain valleys.

The result is a wealth of opportunities for hikers seeking to explore the heights and enjoy stunning views of rocky
peaks and deep blue seas. There is a varied flora including dense evergreen for- ests, marquis and garique in the
arid zone, sub alpine flora on the approach to the peaks, and an enormous number of beautiful flowering shrubs,
which give an extra dimension to many hikes.