GR221 – The Dry Stone Way
Majorca’s magnificent beaches and mountains are the haunt of the super-rich and the holidaying Brit during the summer season, but once the hordes have moved on and the temperatures have cooled; the frenetic ambience of the Island changes and becomes a near paradise for a winter-sun walking holiday. Great weather, great refuges and beautiful scenery: walking holidays won’t get much better than this week’s trek!
The route is graced with magnificent scenery and follows the best four days from Majorca’s long distance path listed as the GR221, The Dry Stone Way, created from the old traders’ route along the island’s north coast and mountains. The path winds itself high and low from secluded bays to mountain tops. A good set of hill legs are imperative for this trekking holiday! Also included is one possible day for some optional scrambling – be sure to advise us if a poor head for heights may preclude this and we’ll accommodate for your needs.
This trek is the perfect starter trek – if you’ve never trekked before try this.
Outline Itinerary
Day | Activity |
1 | Arrive Palma. Enjoy local sightseeing. |
2 | Trek day 1 – Valldemossa to Deia (6 miles, ↑520m, ↓800m, 5.5hrs). A wonderful start to the trek as we tackle the high Camino del Archiduque affording us Mediterranean views to our left and mountains to our right. |
3 | Trek day 2 – Deia to Soller via a visit to the bay at Calle Deia (8 miles, ↑280m, ↓415m, 6hrs). An easy day following a coastal path through the woods! |
4 | Trek day 3 – Soller to Tossals Verd (10 miles – 12 miles, ↑1030m, ↓550m, 7hrs).– The day starts with an ascent of a gorge – Barranc de Biniaraix. The locals will tell you, if you walk just one day on this island – to walk this. But the fun doesn’t stop there … Following on are hill-top views and a series of short tunnels to lead us to our back-country refuge. |
5 | Trek day 4 – Tossals Verd to Son Amer with a possible scramble to summit Massenella (9 miles, ↑700m, ↓800m, 8hrs). Wonderful trekking through forest, over our high pass and eventually to the monastery at Lluc. A spiritual day maybe! |
6 | Return to Palma in the morning and fly home in the afternoon. |
Note: If you wish to stay additional nights in Palma these will be best arranged independently. See the official tourist information for further details: www.infomallorca.net.
Read a first hand account
Paul Buck recently joined us on GR221 – The Drystone Way, Majorca / Mallorca. Read his account of the trek by clicking the link below
Walking For Charity GR221–The Drystone Way, Mallorca
Timing
Join this trek in the spring or the autumn when the weather is still warm but not oppressively hot.
Equipment
The kit list specifically required for this walking holiday is provided below in PDF format. It will also be posted to you in our client’s expedition handbook. Largely speaking little is required of you – a good pair of light weight walking boots, may be the only things you need to buy prior to departure. Join Will4Adventure’s mailing list and automatically get a 15% discount at Cotswold Outdoors.
Level of Fitness for the Trek
We’ll be walking at steady pace taking time for breaks and to photograph the scenery. Generally the days have us walking for around 6 hours and will require a reasonable level of hill fitness from you. Exercise regularly each week to develop your cardiovascular system and stamina. At weekends, go and explore some countryside, maybe take a pack and do some camping. As a rule of thumb, if you can comfortably walk 12 miles up and down the hills inside a day then you should be fine on this trip.
Roughing It
All our trips involve a degree of ‘roughing it’. The accommodation we use is comfortable but by no means ostentatious. On this trip we will be staying in refuges (refugio) for three nights – a sort of rustic and charming form of our youth hostels and for these three nights we will be dormitory rooms. These are basic but clean and comfortable. An excellent philosophy on enjoying dormitory life can be read here.