The Mallorcan mountains, postcard views...
La Serra! A UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We started our route in La Serra, in the north. After visiting the north coast and the town of Pollensa the day before, today we are heading into the heart of the Sierra de Tramontana.
First of all, we want to make an important warning: the roads in the mountains are narrow, with many bends and sometimes a lot of traffic. If you are coming in a large camper van or motorhome, and you don’t have much experience, we recommend that you return from Pollensa to Palma via the Alcudia motorway, and go directly from Palma to Valldemosa, Sóller and Puerto de Sóller. Access is much easier from the south, and from Puerto de Sóller you can take many boat trips to see very typical places such as Sa Calobra. Do not go into the mountains with a large vehicle without experience, because the only memory you will take away is a bad experience at the wheel!
We are driving one of our medium-sized camper vans, and as we have experience driving camper vans or motorhomes, we decided to do the whole road of the Sierra from Pollensa to Andratx.
We started our visit to Tramuntana by watching the sunrise at the Es Colomer viewpoint, in the north. Quite a spectacle, we decided not to go to the Formentor lighthouse, because it takes a long time to get there, and we don’t fancy the drive. Remember also that from June to September this road is closed to traffic, and can only be accessed by shuttle bus from the Formentor beach car park. If the road is restricted, do not go to the lighthouse, because every summer they issue thousands and thousands of fines for accessing it in a private vehicle.
Our next stop is the Lluc Monastery, which is accessed by a beautiful mountain road and is one of the magical places on the island, full of energy.
We decided to continue along the main road of the Sierra, Ma-10, by the Cúber reservoirs, on the slopes of Puig Mayor, the highest peak in Mallorca. We didn’t turn off to Sa Calobra, because the road would take us too long, it is usually very crowded and we decided to save it for a boat trip from Puerto de Sóller.
Sóller town is surrounded by olive and orange trees, and Puerto de Sóller has a very pretty old town to take a walk around. On the way here we have stopped at several viewpoints, picnic areas and small villages such as Fornalux, which are spectacular. It is always advisable in this area to park on the outskirts of the villages, not to access them with our camper van or motorhome and to take a walk to explore them, as their streets are very narrow and we may have problems with our vehicles.
We arrived in Valldemosa at sunset, to have a snack of Coca de Patata with almond ice cream on one of its terraces. Valldemosa is the setting for numerous series and films, and a walk through its streets feels very familiar.
From Valldemosa we continue to the town of Andratx passing through Bañalbufar, one of the most beautiful towns in Mallorca.
We insist, in the mountains the distances are endless, the road is full of bends and sometimes there is a lot of traffic and you have to go very slowly. Patience and prudence, plan your route well and do not go to the most remote places with large camper vans or motorhomes. Walk, explore its thousands of paths and always leave your vehicle well parked.
Remember to respect the current regulations, take care of the environment, do not disturb the locals and leave the place clean and without a trace of our visit. Let’s take care of the beautiful island of Mallorca.
Where to park? Differences between parking, overnight stays and camping (see here).