The mountains that surround the Soller valley met their conqueror 100 years ago. The thinkers of the hidden valley knew that progress was going to be impossible unless they ended Soller's mountain isolation. At the turn of the century Soller was a boom town trading in cotton and oranges and moving these goods other than by sea was, quite simply, impossible. The majestic mountains and, in particular, the Alfabia mountain range prevented passengers and goods being transported to the island’s main port in Palma de Mallorca.