Serra de Tramuntana guide: villages, walks and the Sóller valley

The Serra de Tramuntana is the limestone spine of Mallorca's northwest coast, and the part of the island that most rewards slow travel. Base yourself in the Sóller valley, give each village its own morning, and keep the afternoons for the sea or a walk.

This is our area guide to the range itself: the villages, the walks, the train and the coast. If you want the drive along it from the southwest, our Port d'Andratx and Tramuntana guide follows the mountain road from Andratx to Sóller.

What is the Serra de Tramuntana like, and who does it suit?

It is mountain country that ends in the sea: terraced slopes, olive groves, pine woods and stone villages linked by one winding coast road. It suits walkers, cyclists and couples who would rather sit on a village square than on a sunbed.

UNESCO inscribed the Cultural Landscape of the Serra de Tramuntana as a World Heritage site in 2011, with a core area of about 30,745 hectares. The listing honours what people built here: the dry stone terraces, mule paths, cisterns and irrigation channels that made a near-vertical landscape farmable. Beaches are few and mostly pebble, so families who want sand every day are better served in the north or the south.

Which Tramuntana towns and villages are worth knowing?

Sóller, Valldemossa and Deià are the famous three. Fornalutx, Banyalbufar and Estellencs are smaller, quieter and often the places people remember.

Valldemossa

Valldemossa grew up around the Real Cartuja, the Carthusian monastery where Frédéric Chopin and George Sand spent the winter of 1838 to 1839. Its rooms and gardens are open to visitors, and each summer it hosts the International Chopin Festival. The village's own saint, Santa Catalina Thomàs, has a statue beside the parish church and a festival that fills the streets in late July.

Come on a Sunday for the market, and order a coca de patata, the soft potato bun the village is known for, with your coffee; Cappuccino Grand Café, one of our partners, has a café in the village.

Deià

Deià is the village of writers and painters, strung along a ridge between the mountains and the sea. The poet Robert Graves came to Mallorca in 1929 and built his house, Ca n'Alluny, just outside the village on the road to Sóller. The Fundació Robert Graves bought it in 2005 and runs it as a museum, with the garden restored to its 1930s layout. Graves is buried in the small cemetery beyond the church, under a cypress.

From the village, a stone track leads down to Cala Deià, a pebble cove with clear water. The GR 221 passes through, and the Consell de Mallorca's Can Boi refuge is in the village.

Sóller and Port de Sóller

Sóller sits in a bowl of orange and lemon groves, and the citrus and wine it once shipped to France paid for its grand houses. On the main square, the medieval church of Sant Bartomeu wears a modernist façade designed by Joan Rubió in 1904. A few streets away, Can Prunera, a modernista house restored in 2010, shows the Serra collection, with works by Miró, Picasso, Gauguin, Klimt and Barceló, and has a sculpture garden. The botanical garden on the edge of town grows plants native to the Balearics and other islands.

The port is a sheltered, almost round bay with a lighthouse on each side of its mouth and a promenade made for an evening walk. On the headland, the Torre Picada watchtower was built between 1614 and 1623 against pirate raids, and every May the town re-enacts a 16th-century pirate attack in its fiesta, Es Firó.

Fornalutx and Biniaraix

Fornalutx, above the Sóller valley, is a village of cobbled lanes and stone houses that has won several awards for its conservation and is counted among Spain's most beautiful villages. On the way up, the hamlet of Biniaraix, 1.2 kilometres from Sóller, is the start of the old stone path up the Barranc de Biniaraix, one of the finest short walks in the range.

Banyalbufar and Estellencs

On the coast road south of Valldemossa, Banyalbufar is built over terraces that step down to the sea, once famous for Malvasia grapes that local winemakers have now revived. Stop at the 16th-century Torre de ses Ànimes, a watchtower built against pirate raids, for the view. A little further on, Estellencs is one of the island's smallest municipalities; its historic centre has been a protected cultural asset since 2007, and a small stony cove lies below.

Where are the best beaches and coves in the Tramuntana?

Expect coves rather than long beaches. The water is deep and clear, the shores are mostly pebble and the way down is often steep.

• Port de Sóller: the only real beach in the valley, on a calm bay, and the easiest with children.
• Cala Deià: a pebble cove below the village, reached by a stone track or a narrow road.
• Sa Calobra: a small cove at the end of the Ma-2141, beside the pebble beach at the mouth of the Torrent de Pareis.
• Cala Estellencs and Port de Valldemossa: small stony coves at the foot of steep roads, best on a calm day.

How do you visit Sa Calobra and the Torrent de Pareis safely?

Drive down the Ma-2141 from the main mountain road early in the day, or come by excursion boat from Port de Sóller in season. From Sa Calobra, a short footpath leads to the pebble beach where the Torrent de Pareis meets the sea, between walls up to 200 metres high.

Walking the gorge is another matter. The Torrent de Pareis is a protected natural monument, and the Balearic government rates the 3.3 kilometre descent from Entreforc to the sea as highly difficult: slippery rock, little phone coverage and a real risk of flash floods. Do not start under any rain or storm warning, do not go alone, and consider a guide.

Which walks show the Serra de Tramuntana at its best?

The GR 221, the Ruta de Pedra en Sec or Dry Stone Route, is the backbone: a long-distance path on old mule tracks and terrace paths from Port d'Andratx to Pollença. Walk single stages as day hikes, or link them with nights in the Consell de Mallorca's refuges.

Book beds and meals through the Consell's refuge booking site. Shorter outings from the Sóller valley include the Barranc de Biniaraix path and the GR 221 stretch between Deià and Sóller. The highest summit, the Puig Major, is a military zone and closed to walkers.

What should you eat and buy in the Tramuntana?

Buy olive oil from the terraces, Sóller oranges in winter and Malvasia wine from Banyalbufar. Estates around Valldemossa and Sóller's olive growers sell direct; our guide to Mallorca's olive oil lists where to taste.

For dinner, eat by the water in Port de Sóller. Davant la Mar, the all-day bistro at Hotel Espléndido, has an indoor lounge and a terrace on the seafront promenade, and the hotel bar is a favourite for watching the sun set over the bay. For more tables across the island, see our restaurant selection.

Sunset On The Bay · Port de Sòller

Davant la Mar Bistro & Bar

An all-day bistro with a terrace on the Port de Sóller promenade, open to hotel guests and passers-by alike.

See on our guide →

Where should you stay in the Serra de Tramuntana?

Stay in the Sóller valley for transport, restaurants and the sea; choose Deià, Fornalutx or Valldemossa for quiet evenings.

Our pick on the bay is Hotel Espléndido, on the Port de Sóller promenade: 74 rooms facing the sea or the gardens, two pools with sea views, one of them an infinity pool, and a spa with a Finnish sauna, Turkish bath and indoor jacuzzi. The building dates from 1956 and was renovated in 2005 by the family-owned Portixol Group, and Sóller is 15 minutes away by tram. See our hotel pages for more.

Harbour Views & Sunsets · Hotels

Hotel Espléndido

A seafront hotel on the Port de Sóller promenade with sea-view pools and a spa, on the tram line to Sóller.

See on our guide →

If a holiday turns into a plan to stay, Berrow Projects, a family-led design and build team based in the town, turns old village houses into finished homes, and opened the Sóller Tennis Club, where visiting players can book lessons or rent a court. Our real estate partners and community and sports clubs are the next places to look.

Old Homes, New Life · Architecture & Construction

Berrow Projects

A family-led Sóller team that restores old townhouses and fincas in the valley into finished homes.

See on our guide →

Mountains, Padel & Pool · Community & Sports

Sóller Tennis Club

A tennis club and social hub in Sóller, with lessons and court rental for visitors.

See on our guide →

How do you get around the Tramuntana, and when should you go?

A car gives the most freedom, but the Sóller valley works well without one. The Tren de Sóller, inaugurated in 1912, climbs from Palma through the mountains to Sóller, and the tram, opened in 1913, continues through the orange groves to the port. Timetables change with the season, so check before you go.

If you drive, set off early: by late morning the car parks at Valldemossa and Sa Calobra fill. Spring and autumn are best for walking and quieter villages; summer suits the bay; in winter some hotels and restaurants close, so check before you go.

What does one perfect day in the Tramuntana look like?

1. 8:00 Breakfast in Valldemossa before the coaches arrive, then the Charterhouse as it opens.
2. 11:00 Drive on to Deià: the Robert Graves house (check the opening days) or a swim at Cala Deià.
3. 14:00 Lunch in Sóller, then Can Prunera or a slow lap of the main square.
4. 16:30 The tram to Port de Sóller, a swim off the beach and a walk along the promenade.
5. 19:30 Sunset drinks and dinner on the terrace at Davant la Mar.