The Kite of the Dead and the Pixarells, landscape sculpted drop by drop

PalmOn this route, we explore a part of the natural heritage surrounding the Lluc sanctuary. We are in the municipality of Escorca, one of the most extensive and at the same time least populated in Mallorca. The island's highest and also most important and visited mountains are concentrated here: Puig Major de Son Torrella (1436 m), Maçanella (1365 m), Puig Tomir (1104 m), Tossals Verds (1099 m), Puig de l'Ofra (1091 m), and Puig Roig (1003 m), among many others. The repopulation church of Sant Pere d'Escorca and the Lluc sanctuary are the most important landmarks of the cultural landscape of the term. But, as a whole, from Andratx to Pollença, the Serra de Tramuntana should be understood as a mountain system of great geomorphological interest, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in the category of cultural landscape. It is a complex calcareous relief, dominated by karst modeling, with strong contrasts between mountain and coast, and with an erosive dynamic marked by irregular water and Mediterranean processes.

Karst or karst relief is a form of terrestrial modeling caused by water through erosion processes by chemical weathering. Striations, rills, and cracks on the rock are an example. This geological phenomenon is also characteristic of our Sierra and takes its name from the Karst region, in southern Slovenia, characterized by a landscape of sinkholes, imposing caves like Škocjan and Postojna, and underground rivers. A very similar complex to that of Mallorca. Because karst relief is, therefore, characteristic of areas with the presence of calcareous rocks or other soluble carbonate rocks. It usually presents characteristic formations of surface corrosion, such as lapies and sinkholes, or underground, such as shafts and caves, and the drainage system is fundamentally underground.

For this route, public transport is available: from Port de Sóller to Alcúdia, the L-231; and from Lluc to Muro, the L312. All information on timetables and route availability can be found on the "tib.org" website of the Consorci de Transports de Mallorca.

The route

[00 min] Either from the bus stop or from the car park, for the start of our hike we should head towards the Plaza de los Pelegrinos in Lluc. We leave the facade of the sanctuary to our left and orient our steps towards the path that connects with the Acolliment and the botanical garden, along the arcades. This is the starting point of the GR 221 variant that passes through Menut, following the old road from Pollença, and joins the main route at the height of the houses of Binifaldó.

After crossing the old sports facilities of the Escolanía de Lluc, we find the signs for the Pixarells route [10 min]. We leave the old road from Pollença and cross the Lluc torrent, to our left, via a small wooden bridge that introduces us fully into a karstic landscape, with characteristic striations, rills, and cracks, through which a old cobbled path, dressed in a lush holm oak forest, runs. A short and intense uphill section leaves us on a small plateau [15 min], with a charcoal kiln mound to the left, a sign of the ancient and traditional use of the forest for making charcoal. To the right, facing east, the path leads to El Camell. A short walk that the terrain transforms into a curious stony labyrinth. [20 min] El Camell is a natural formation that erosion caused by rainwater has modeled on the limestone rock that predominates over the soil and subsoil of the Lluc area; curiously, with the shape of a figure similar to that of a camel (or dromedary, because the figure has exactly one hump).

We return to the main path [25 min], which we now rejoin on the right. Our walk continues along an old and wide cobbled path that soon forks [30 min]. We leave the Pixarells path, by which we will return, and turn right towards the 'cometa dels Morts'. The path descends slightly to level out upon reaching an open area [35 min], this is the 'dolina' – a depression in the shape of an oval or circular funnel typical of karst areas – of the 'cometa dels Morts', a toponym that refers to the cave located in the lowest part of the 'coma'. The name comes from the remains of burials from the Talayotic period that were discovered there. The cave, marked from the path, is located to our left.

The cave of the 'cometa dels Morts'

In prehistoric times, the mountains of Escorca were already a place of settlement, burial, and worship for the primitive inhabitants of the island. A total of 44 archaeological sites are proof of the strong imprint of the past on the territory. The cave of Cometa dels Morts allows us to visualize on-site the funeral rituals of the inhabitants of the Tramuntana mountain range in the Iron Age (1200-550 BC). If we visit the Lluc museum, we can contemplate a multitude of objects and pieces found in various excavations, mostly led by Father Cristòfol Veny Melià (1926-2007), a missionary of the Sagrat Cor de Lluc, archaeologist and member of the CSIC, and director of the Spanish Institute of Prehistory between 1980 and 1985.

We return to the main path and follow it in the same direction we have maintained so far. A short, slightly ascending walk will lead us to the Pollença-Lluc road (Ma-10), at kilometer 17.3 [50 min], between the entrance to the public estate of Menut and the Pixarells recreational area, towards which we direct our steps. We advance 300 meters in the direction of Pollença and soon we will find the entrance to the aforementioned recreational area [55 min]. We enter and follow the track that goes down to the area of picnic areas, benches, and tables, until we reach the path that continues descending to the Pixarells area, another area that perfectly exemplifies the characteristic karst modeling. Combined with the holm oak forest, it creates a magical and unsettling environment. We advise you to explore this environment calmly and with all five senses.

When the path begins to gain momentum to leave this hollow, “sa terra de ses olles des Puat de Menut”, as Father Bartomeu Roig highlights in his book Les fonts del terme de Lluc i els seus itineraris (El Tall editorial, 1993), we find on the left the Pixarells fountain [1 h 10 min], so called because of the multitude of holes through which water gushes out when it rains a lot. At the top of the path, we find the Pixarells viewpoint [1 h 20 min]. Shortly after, we close the circuit at the crossroads mentioned at the beginning of the walk. From here, all that remains is to retrace our steps to the sanctuary of Lluc [1 h 45 min].

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