Nature / Park Sights in Mallorca — 8 of Our Favourites

Pliny claimed it as the birthplace of Hannibal and, during the Napoleonic Wars, it became a notorious prison camp. Since 1916 it has been a military base and since 1991 a protected national park as well. There are 19 islands in total, of which only one is populated. 'Goat Island' is the largest island in this rocky archipelago

There are a number of hikes you arrange with the park ranger - try the walk to the lighthouse (11km), or visit the caves at La Miranda. One of the most popular walks is up to the castle which overlooks the harbour. It was built at the end of the 14th century in response to the number of pirate attacks that Majorca was suffering.

There is an ethnological museum, displaying ceramics of ancient civilizations and more recent fishing and farming items that locals have used to survive throughout the years. There are around 30 endemic plant species on the island and even more in the surrounding sea. Endangered animals such as turtles and whales come under the parks protection and rare species of fish and corals can be found in the underwater caves. The park prohibits fishing in its waters, making this area unique in the Mediterranean for marine life.

The closest place to stay is Colonia St Jordi.

In a nutshell, the Serra de Tramuntana runs for 88km, from Andratx to Pollença, occupying 30% of the island's terrain at more than 1000km2. Ten peaks are over 1,000m here, most concentrated in the area around Lluc. The highest mountains are Puig Major (1,443m), Puig Massanella (1,348m) and Serra d’Alfàbia (1,069m). There are no rivers running through the Serra de Tramuntana though there are several mountain torrents which swell rapidly after rain. The Cuber and Gorg Blau reservoirs residing here are essential resources on an island so often affected by drought.

Much of the Serra Tramuntana consists of forested hills that give way to barren crags and peaks and the odd derelict blonde stone house or monastery. The mountain landscape could be described as timeless, as are the traditional mountain villages that dwell here. The western coastline is primarily rugged, with few beaches but instead pine-covered slopes leaning into the sea. Traces of the area’s history are still very much present in the form of ancient irrigation systems and dry stone terraces dating back to the Arabic occupation, where they made the most of the difficult agricultural landscape in the mountains.

The people of Mallorca have good reason to be grateful to the mountains - in winter they act as a buffer, shielding the plain from the fierce Tramuntana wind and absorbing most of the island's rain and snow. In summer, they provide a cool retreat from the heat of Palma and the south.

With a protected surface area of 1671 hectares, the Peninsula de Llevant Natural Park covers much of Artà’s mountain range (Muntanyes d’Artà) and includes the highest peaks of the Serres de Llevant: Puig Morei which stands at 564 m; Puig des Porrassar at 491 m; and Puig de sa Tudossa, at 441 m.

This area was declared a National Park in 2002 and is renowned for its remote and unspoilt beaches, and its colonies of Mediterranean tortoises. You can drive through the reserve up a narrow road if you prefer not to walk, and the views from the top down on to the Bay of Alcudia are astounding. The road then drops down to a remote church, the Ermita de Betlem, just next to the coastline. A number of hiking trails start from here.

Llevant Nature Reserve is also a popular destination for bird watching. Some of the land is privately owned and there is a visitor centre, again with hiking trails, on the road from Arta to the Ermita. Read about our experience when we went Walking & Birdwatching in the Llevant Peninsula.

There are mountain huts in Llevant where you can stay overnight. Refugio de s'Alzina has six rooms and Refugio de s'Arenalet has 18 beds and there is a campsite at La Caseta des Oguers. Otherwise, the closest place to stay is Arta in the north east of Mallorca.

Once the whole coast was like this - thankfully, environmentalists have saved this small section from development. It is covered in local varieties of plants and dunes, forming the habitat of beautiful species of marine birds.

Walk south from Cala Millor, or north from Sa Coma, on a well-defined 1.5km track. Eventually, you reach the Castell de n'Amer, a 17th-century watchtower. Have a drink at the summit and look down at what you have left behind.

Located just off the south-western coast of Mallorca, Sa Dragonera is separated from the main island by a small channel. Six kilometres long and crowned by an ancient watchtower, Sa Dragonera takes its name from its shape, said to resemble a dragon. 

Made up of three islets, Illot des Pantaleu, Sa Mitjana and Sa Dragonera, it is home to 361 different plant species, 18 of which are endemic to the Balearics. The park’s fauna is another of its most interesting aspects. Particularly worthy of note is the wall lizard population, an endemic subspecies that cannot be found anywhere else in the world, as well as the particular snail species, which is also endemic to the Balearic Islands.

The Park’s list of catalogued seafaring birds is extensive and includes the Audouin’s gull and the Balearic shearwater, one of the few birds that are endemic to the Balearic Islands. Sa Dragonera also boasts the largest Eleonora’s falcon population in the archipelago.

As to the mammals, the bats are the park’s only naturally existing group and include at least 5 species, some of which are migrant. The waters and marine floor are included in the park’s area of marine influence, which contains a well-conserved array of underwater ecosystems representative of the western Mediterranean. Particularly worthy of note for their diversity are the Posidonia oceanica prairies, a refuge for countless marine species and coral communities.

Declared a wildlife reserve in 1995, it is only open to 150 people at a time. There are four different hiking routes on the island, the longest taking three hours round trip. Take your swimming costume and pack some supplies, as there are no hotels or restaurants. The closest place to stay is Sant Elm or Port d'Andratx.

The Park is open to visitors all year round, from 10:00 to 17:00 between 1 April and 30 September, and from 10:00 to 14:30 during the rest of the year.

The park is famous for its fine white sand beaches and the unbelievable turquoise blue sea. Its remoteness does not stop it from being very popular, so you will need to share the beauty with your fellow travellers!

Stunning cliffs reach down to crystal clear waters and the wetlands Ses Fonts de n'Alis with its migratory birds complete this nature reserve and beauty spot (there is an information centre at this car park, open from 09:00 to 16:00). Several paths of varying distances meander around the coastline and there are a number of very beautiful beaches within the park (have a look at Cala Mondrago and S'Aramador Beach). Agricultural lands and low hills surround the area and free parking is available.

The closest places to stay are the rural town of Santanyi and the coastal resort of Cala d'Or.

A mixed habitat of fresh and salt water, as well as scrubland and pines, the reserve is a stopping point for migratory birds and is a nesting area for birds such as the Eleonora falcon, osprey, marsh harrier, stilt sandpiper, yellow wagtail and the purple gallinule. It is also home to over 300 species of plant life, some of them endemic.

It covers a surface of 211 hectares, and it was declared a nature reserve in 2001. When visiting, you need to remain on marked paths and trails at all times and bear in mind that animals are not allowed and that you cannot remove plants or disturb the animals.

Birdwatchers come to Mallorca from all over Europe to see rare migrants here like Montagu's harriers and Eleanora's falcons; species breeding here include stonechats, moustached warblers and the long-eared owl. Ospreys leave their breeding sites on the cliffs to come here to fish; peregrines and hoopoes live here all year round.

The name derives from the Arabic for 'lagoon', but the site has been exploited since Roman times. Pliny writes of night herons, probably from S'Albufera, being sent to Rome as a gastronomic delicacy. The wetlands were drained for agriculture in the l9th century by a British company which subsequently went bankrupt; the network of canals dates from this time.

Rice was introduced in the early 20th century, paper was manufactured from the reeds and sedge, and it is only since 1985, following fears that tourist development was damaging the area's fragile ecology, that S'Albufera has been a protected nature reserve. There are footpaths, cycle trails, birdwatching hides and a visitors centre (about 20 min walk from the car park) with an audio visual display room where you can listen to birdsong.

The closest place to stay are the beach resorts of Alcudia and Playa de Muro.