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Dry Stone Route

GR221: Through Mallorca's mountainous interior

By Northern Adventures

Introduction

(Fri Oct 1st - Fri OCT 8th, 2021)

The GR221 Drystone Route (Ruta de Pedra en Sec) traverses Mallorca's 🇪🇸 Serra de Tramuntana mountain range, following rock paths and mule tracks between picturesque villages and small towns.

The trail winds through Mallorca's surprisingly beautiful landscape of mountains, deep woods and cultivated terraces, as well as its spectacular coastline, with accommodation available in charming mountain villages and the occasional 'refugis'. (Wild camping is possible and quite common though it may require meticulous planning in terms of water sourcing.)

We chose beginning of October for our trip to avoid summer heats yet to still enjoy warm days and favourable rainless weather. Besides refugio Tossals Verds, we opted mainly for hotels, sometimes splurging unnecessarily to match our itinerary and/or due to the lack of other accommodation choices.

Our week-long itinerary was as follows: s’Arracó -> Estellencs -> Esporles -> Valldemossa/Deià -> Sóller -> Tossals Verds -> Lluc -> Caimari.

Dry Stone Route

How We Went

The Journey

Our afternoon Prague -> Palma de Mallorca Smartwings flight was scheduled conveniently enough to allow us some decent beer time in Port d'Andratx that we carefully chose as our first overnight destination having exactly that kind of kick-off evening in mind.

In fact, the party atmosphere at Tim's with live band playing from the bar's balcony was electrifying, beers were served pretty fast though naturally not that fast as in Prague 🍻😊.

Nevertheless, we really enjoyed the evening; the only unfortunate thing was my sore throat I woke up with in the following morning. Apparently, I brought some nasty virus from Prague with me and had to somehow cope with that during the whole trail.

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Day 1: From s’Arracó to Estellencs

We took an early morning bus from Port d’Andratx to s’Arracó where we had breakfast in the friendly Café C'An Viguet. Having resupplied (water, lunch) in the small supermercado nearby, we set out on the trail quickly, leaving the small hamlet towards the Coll des Cucons pass.

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

The morning autumn landscape became surprisingly isolated - we didn't expect such passages on Mallorca, and were soon about to realize that this is quite common in the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range.

In pleasant sunny weather, we continued hiking all the way up to Coll des Cucons pass, continuously gaining altitude and enjoying marvellous views back across the lush rolling landscape.

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

The subsequent descent to Coll de sa Gramola was pretty straightforward. We had quick lunch at one of the picnic tables at the parking lot, and then tried to tackle the uninspiring asphalt road section with numerous passing cyclists and cars as quickly as possible.

(Cycling is apparently very popular in Mallorca and there are thousands of visitors coming to Mallorca just for biking. At one side, I can fully understand that given the mountainous landscape and beautiful curvy roads winding through it, however with all the other fellow cyclists around and especially with heavy car traffic this is something I wouldn't be able to enjoy.)

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Then, a rather steep and long ascent all the way up to the stone ruins of Caseta de la Mola followed, with clouds moving in and sometimes obscuring otherwise vast and stunning views.

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

At the trail junction that followed we made a decision: to avoid another road section and following the official GR221 route, we decided to try our luck with the hardly visible and overgrown footpath leading to Pas des Cossis.

Not sure it was the wisest choice - the path was really overgrown in places and would be hard to follow without a GPS - yet things finally turned for the better when we reached the refugio Boal de Ses Serveres.

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

We spiced the last mile to Estellencs with a steep and unnecessary descent through a narrow gully. It looked like a proper footpath at first however ended up as a miserable mistake at a fenced backyard of someone's house at the outskirts of Estellencs.

Nevertheless, we made it through after some bushwhacking effort, and had to wash everything down properly with a pair of beers 🍺 at the sunny terrace of the Vall Hermos restaurant. The Maristel hotel was a silly splurge (there was no other option in the village in terms of overnight stay) and we tried to forget about it during dinner in the Montimar restaurant that ranked among the best dining experiences of the overall trip.

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Day 2: From Estellencs to Esporles

Opulent breakfast was one of the positives of our stay in Maristel. On the contrary to the previous day, the walk to Esporles should have been less strenuous even though we prolonged it a bit by adding an additional coastal section to Port de Canonge.

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

The trail lead us through beautiful woods and olive groves until we emerged into a beautiful hillside village of Banyalbufar. Here we had some luck to secure a place in the local restaurant CA'N Paco which turned out to be probably the most welcoming eating establishment we've visited all across the island. Delicious seafood paella 🥘 was washed down by a few beers 🍺 however we had to move on quickly since we were still in the middle of today's journey.

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

On the contrary to the morning leg, the afternoon coastal journey on Camí de Sa Volta des General to Port des Canonge was rather an uninspiring endeavour mainly due to herds of day-trippers and families we met on this well-maintained easy and broad footpath.

We opted for this side hike since we wanted to enjoy a sea dip (which we did), however that remained the only positive aspect of the decision.

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

After that, the final ascent to Esporles followed, first with a steeper section yet otherwise a pleasant walk in the rural countryside illuminated by the gentle afternoon light.

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

In Esporles, we stayed in the welcoming Hostal Esporles and enjoyed a well-deserved prolonged dinner 🐟🍺 in the busy Es Brollador restaurant located on the charming town's plaza.

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Day 3: From Esporles to Valldemossa (and Deià)

The weather forecast for the third day was rainy; the only day with such a prediction from the week-long itinerary.

It was about to be significantly rainy till lunch time, the forecast said. Prematurely, we got some optimism into our minds when the sun broke through grey clouds after morning downpour - and set out on the trail towards Valldemossa across rugged forested hills.

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Rapidly changing weather was the pattern we experienced throughout the day, with rain showers following brief yet intensive moments of sunshine.

The landscape was wooded, with forest paths occasionally emerging onto surprisingly nice viewpoints. The rugged terrain implied we had to ascent and descent several times across a few passes to finally reach maintained paths from Mola de sa Comuna down to Valldemossa.

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

The historical centre of Valldemossa was beautiful though (very) crowded, and having quick lunch we had to decide what to do: either to continue traversing mountain plateau east of Valldemossa and finish our journey in Deià as originally planned, or to call it a day and save the ascent from Valldemossa for tomorrow, leaving for Deià by bus.

Since the weather forecast remained rainy for the whole afternoon, we opted for the latter which turned out to be a reasonable choice given the continuous rain showers.

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Deià was a beautiful stony hillside village that unfortunately lacked a bit of a character being turned into a touristic place.

We stayed in the Hotel d'es Puig (another splurge - cheaper establishments were sold out) and had some luck securing a place in a touristic and rather uninspiring restaurant - simply, most of the restaurants filled up quickly and there weren't many dining choices around.

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Day 4: From Valldemossa to Sóller

Rainy day often means sunshine in the following morning, and this is almost certain around the Mediterranean. So we were eager to catch the morning bus from Deià back to Valldemossa and to resume our hiking where we stopped yesterday.

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

More time for today's portion also meant we could re-route the journey to Sóller, and given the fine weather we did so by incorporating an exhilarating cliff-top walk on Camí de s’Arxiduc into the itinerary.

Retrospectively, it was a really great albeit a bit of a random choice - this section with stunning views from the ridge became our highlight of the overall GR221 trail.

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

We re-joined the GR221 path below es Caragolí however left it once more on the mountain plateau at Racó Perdut where we had quick lunch bite.

The next section across the barren high-altitude plateau below the massif of Pla de la Mala Garba was another highlight, somehow reminding me of the typical boulder-field terrain of high altitude areas in Lapland. Also, the footpath we followed was disappearing in places, and from time to time we had to rely on our GPS not to loose the right direction.

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Having crossed Puig des Vent and sa Galera hilltops, we started the long descent on sometimes hardly visible and overgrown forest paths down to Sóller.

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

The last miles were comprised of pleasant walking on well-maintained footpaths and Sóller itself proved to be a lovely and laidback town - actually the centre of Mallorca's northern coast, yet still maintaining its character thanks to the fact that local people do actually live here i.e. it's not a tourist town.

Funny enough, although we really enjoyed a few craft beers 🍺 in the Sullerica Beer & Bar we had some hard time afterwards to secure a place for dinner, finally ending up in an Indian establishment called The Red Fort II. Needles to say, the dinner 🍛 here was really tasty though something we definitely wouldn't expect to opt for when we arrived in Sóller.

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Day 5: From Sóller to Tossals Verds

The fifth day was about to offer a fair ascent, but before that we first had to pass through an idyllic pastoral landscape on the way to the small hamlet of Biniaraix.

Here we resisted the temptation to enjoy a few more relaxing moments over a coffee in the cosy bar on the village's small plaza, and started to ascent abruptly just at the edge of the small settlement.

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

The cobbled footpath we followed was beautifully crafted and quite a joy to walk on despite continuous elevation gain. We had quick lunch at the L’Ofre pastureland, unsuccessfully trying to find a protection from the blowing wind, and finished our ascent in the Coll de l'Ofre mountain pass.

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

The gentle walk to Embassament de Cúber water reservoir that followed was easy to tackle though a bit boring in places.

Having crossed the busy Ma-10 road, we once more proceeded with an uphill section, finally reaching the pass called Coll del Portellet. The views from the pass towards Embassament del Gorg Blau reservoir are worth noting.

From the pass, we continued with the last (downhill) section towards the remote Refugi Tossals Verds, which included a bit exposed section aided by metal chains. The refugi itself proved to be a welcoming place (🍺,🍷, 🍝), though it's fair to say we became kind of picky after previous gourmet evenings ;-).

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Day 6: From Tossals Verds to Lluc

Bright sunny morning ushered what turned out to be another major highlight of the trail, ascent of the Coll des Prat pass across a wild mountainous scenery free of any signs of civilisation.

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

In fact, we reached the highest altitude of the overall trail - 1205m is the elevation of the pass. Having reached the coll, we soundly refused the idea to climb Mallorca's highest freely accessible peak (Puig de Massanella at 1364m), showed the way to the small group of determined Poles, and enjoyed a prolonged lunch break in the beautiful sunny weather instead.

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

With clouds moving in, we started the long descent towards Lluc, soon following another beautiful cobbled footpath.

It took us some reasonable time before we entered the monastery site of Santuari de Lluc to immediately grab a place on the terrace of the Ca s'Amitger bar restaurant and wash down the knee-testing descent by a few beers 🍺, being surrounded by herds of English cycling enthusiasts (as was often the case of any establishment located at the side of any road suitable for cycling).

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

We stayed in the sanctuary overnight, and opted for dinner in the unfortunately vibeless Sa Fonda De Lluc monastery restaurant.

The sacred site had some magic though, especially when one left the entrance area to enjoy a short circular walk on the Camí des Misteris trail.

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Day 7: From Lluc to Caimari (and back to Palma de Mallorca)

The final section of GR221 leads from Lluc to Pollença, however we quickly ruled this option out given the rather long roadwalk section near the trail end.

Instead of that, our idea was to hike down the El Torrent de Pareis canyon to the tranquil bay of Sa Calobra - it would clearly be another highlight of the journey, however we had no luck securing the transportation from Sa Calobra; the taxi arranged via Booking.com rejected the (previously confirmed) ride and boat trips between Sa Calobra and Port de Sóller were cancelled due to strong winds.

All of these facts gave us no other option than to hike in the southern direction to Caimari, where we planned to catch a bus (or take a taxi) to Inca and there to get on a train to Palma de Mallorca.

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Having our flight from Palma de Mallorca back to Prague scheduled for the evening, we used the remaining time in Palma on the city beach as well as did a short stroll around the capital's old town.

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Dry Stone Route

Afterword

The GR221 "Dry Stone Route" was a pleasant hiking surprise; we didn't expect to discover such a diverse, mountainous and wild scenery on Mallorca, an island often associated with mass tourism and quite small in size.

The villages scattered along the trail make lightweight hiking perfectly possible - accommodation and food may be secured in the villages and towns, though sometimes the overnight choices are quite limited and thus unnecessarily expensive.

Wild camping from the trail perspective is surely possible, however personally I would feel a bit uncomfortable taking a constant utmost care of drinking water; natural water resources along the trail are very scarce and resupplying in villages means transporting a few more kilos on top of the backpack weight.

Retrospectively, the hiking highlights were three: Tossals Verds to Coll des Prat, cliff-edge walk on Camí de s’Arxiduc above Valldemossa (not official part of GR221 though), and rural wandering between s’Arracó and Coll des Cucons.

From the gourmet perspective, Montimar restaurant in Estellencs and CA'N Paco in Banyalbufar were the highlights; great food and family atmosphere made these visits exceptional and setting apart from other establishments that were either touristic or lacking a character.

Finally, on the weather note, we can't rely complain; just half a day of rain made the journey entertaining and stress-free weather-wise.

Footnotes

All images are exclusive property and may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, transmitted, manipulated or used in any way without permission of the author.

FootNotes

All images are exclusive property and may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, transmitted, manipulated or used in any way without permission of the author.

© 2026 Northern Adventures

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