The most beautiful drive on Mallorca

The whole Tramuntana range in one day

The Serra de Tramuntana has been a UNESCO World Heritage cultural landscape since 2011: a 150-kilometre mountain range running right along the north-west coast of Mallorca, with terraced villages, olive groves, monasteries and sheer sea cliffs. This drive strings together the eight finest places in a single loop of about 210 kilometres along the legendary Ma-10, the sea on one side and the mountains on the other. You start and finish at Palma's cathedral, so you come back to where you began.

Unique to Touren.app: you need not start in Palma. Tap "Drive this route from your location" and we rotate the loop so it starts at the point nearest your hotel or villa and brings you back. Everyone drives the same beautiful mountain road, but from their own front door.

The route on the map

A schematic overview by Touren.app, not a navigation map. The exact route opens under “Drive this route” or in Google Maps. Map orientation: north is up.

Plan your own route

The 8 places along the route

1. Palma (Catedral de Mallorca)

Start · the cathedral by the sea

La Seu, the Gothic cathedral of Palma, stands right by the water above the Parc de la Mar, mirrored in its pool. It is one of the largest Gothic churches in Europe, with a huge rose window that catches the light at dawn. A strong start before you head into the mountains.

Practical: park in one of the garages below the old town and walk to the Parc de la Mar; the old town is largely low-traffic.

2. Valldemossa

the mountain village · Valldemossa

Valldemossa is a much-loved terraced village of honey-coloured stone, high on the southern flank of the Tramuntana. It is famous for the Reial Cartoixa, the charterhouse where Chopin and George Sand spent the winter of 1838 to 1839. The scent of coca de patata, the local pastry, drifts through the narrow lanes.

Practical: park on the edge of the village and walk up; the centre is mostly pedestrian.

3. Deià

the artists' village · Deià

Deià clings to the slope of Puig des Teix, a village of ochre houses that has drawn writers and painters for a century; the poet Robert Graves is buried here. Below it lies the little cove of Cala Deià. From the Ma-10 you get the classic view of the village with its church tower against the mountains.

Practical: the main street is narrow and parking is limited, use the car parks on the edge.

4. Port de Sóller

the bay · Port de Sóller

Port de Sóller sits in an almost enclosed horseshoe bay with a sandy beach and two headland lighthouses. A wooden tram from 1913 shuttles from the bay to the inland town of Sóller. The road down descends in wide bends through the orange groves of the valley.

Practical: paid parking along the front; the finest view is from the Mirador de Ses Barques higher up the Ma-10.

5. Gorg Blau (Puig Major)

the roof of the island · Gorg Blau

On the highest stretch of the Ma-10 lie the mountain lakes Cúber and Gorg Blau, two turquoise reservoirs right beneath Puig Major, at 1,445 metres the highest mountain on Mallorca (the summit itself is a closed military base). This is the classic view of the range: bare limestone, pines and still water. The Torrent de Pareis rises here.

Practical: free parking along the Ma-10; a popular trailhead for the GR-221 walking route.

6. Santuari de Lluc

the monastery · Santuari de Lluc

Deep in the mountains, in a green basin near Escorca, lies the Santuari de Lluc, Mallorca's foremost place of pilgrimage. In the basilica stands La Moreneta, a dark statue of the Virgin, and the Els Blauets boys' choir has sung here since the 16th century. A calm halfway point on the drive, with a broad courtyard and old plane trees.

Practical: ample parking by the monastery; free entry to the basilica and gardens.

7. Pollença

at the foot of the mountains · Pollença

Pollença lies where the Tramuntana meets the plain, an atmospheric stone town with a famous stairway: 365 cypress-lined steps climb to the Calvari chapel on the hill above town. From the top you look out over the rooftops and the bay. A fine last stop before you head out onto the cape.

Practical: park on the square and climb the Calvari steps on foot; good cafes around the Plaça Major.

8. Cap de Formentor

the finale · Cap de Formentor

The Ma-2210 winds out to Cap de Formentor, the northernmost point of Mallorca, along a narrow ridge with cliffs over 300 metres high. At the Mirador des Colomer you look down on the Es Colomer islet; at the far end stands the 1863 lighthouse, the tallest in the Balearics. A spectacular close to the drive.

Practical: mind the summer rule, from mid-May to mid-October the road is closed to cars during the day (go early or take the shuttle bus). Outside that season it is an ordinary mountain drive with car parks at the miradors.

Practical: for the rental car, convertible and motorbike

From which place: the route starts in Palma, but you need not start there. Tap "Drive this route from your location" and Touren.app rotates the loop to the point nearest your hotel or villa, so you set off from your own front door and return to it.

For which vehicle: the Ma-10 through the Tramuntana is one of Europe's finest mountain roads, a joy in a convertible or on a motorbike. Mind the narrow village centres, the bends and the heavy cyclist traffic in spring. If you want a quicker way back to Palma, the Ma-13 (the island's only motorway) is the fast option; our scenic route avoids it.

Legendary detour: from the Ma-10 near Escorca the Ma-2141 drops in 13 kilometres of hairpins to Sa Calobra and the Torrent de Pareis gorge (a natural monument since 2003), with the famous "Nus de sa Corbata", the knot where the road bends over itself. Reckon on a steep, busy dead-end road you also drive back up; go early.

Best time: April, May, June and September are ideal: the almond and olive groves look their best and it is cooler than on the coast. In July and August set off early. For Formentor, the summer rule above applies.

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