The Nou valley, a fertile, long and winding trench

PalmThe Borges stream, at over 40 km long, is the longest watercourse in Mallorca. It collects the waters of one of the island's largest river basins, covering more than 330 km². It rises between Manacor and Felanitx, flows north, crosses the municipalities of Vilafranca de Bonany, Petra, and Santa Margalida, and empties into the sea near Son Serra de Marina. On its journey between Petra and Manacor, the Borges stream becomes the backbone of a long and fertile valley that we propose exploring, both on foot and by observing, to savor the rich cultural landscape and natural heritage of inland Mallorca.

"The Nou Valley is a fertile, long, and winding trench, surrounded by limestone hills, north of Manacor and bordering the municipality of Petra. Over time, the Na Borges stream has carved out the region on its way to the alluvial plain on both sides. It is precisely on top of this biophysical matrix that a territory based on irrigated agriculture has been built, a manipulated space, a metaphorical garden that has not left an aggressive wound. This is not one of those landscapes that gets stuck in your brain." (Manel Santana) CentperCent(January 22, 2018) This long, winding valley is the destination of our strenuous hike, which begins and ends at the Petra cemetery, established in 1921. The train is the most direct public transport option to reach kilometer zero of our route.

The route

[00 min] We set off from the municipal cemetery parking lot towards Foravila, heading east. We pass the roundabout that regulates and distributes traffic between the Ma-3340, Ma-3320, and Ma-3330 roads. We will now follow the latter, the one that connects Petra and Son Serra de Marina. Take great care, always keeping to the left and walking single file if in a group. On this 1.5-kilometer stretch of asphalt, we will pass the houses of Son Frare del Metge on the left, and shortly after, we will see the Son Canals road on our right.

Next [20 min], at kilometer marker 12.8, we find a dirt track on the right. Just inside, we find a well with a small chapel. We continue along this track, which soon takes us past the houses of Son Frare de Xineta and Can Botó. [35 min] The track joins the Son Fongó road near Albiana. We turn left onto this road, heading towards Sa Canova Vella (including Sa Canova d'en Riera). We leave the houses on our right [45 min] and continue on the paved road. We soon find the n'Orenga spring on the left, just as the road begins its descent towards La Valleta, crossed by the na Borges stream. A series of hairpin bends lead past the houses of Son Roca, shortly before reaching the na Borges plain near Son Roca Vella [55 min].

Just reaching the bottom of the Valleta valley, near the Na Borges stream, we find a dirt track on the left that we must follow, leading us into the Nou valley. [1 hr 00 min] Heading northeast, we walk along a path well-used by cyclists, horses, and hikers, surrounded by riverside vegetation and the remains of old orchards. On the left, we can make out the reddish crags above Ca n'Aleix, where the famous Cave of the Vultures is located. After a stretch of path surrounded by vegetation, we emerge onto a wider, clearer one. On the left, an irrigation channel appears, an element of the hydraulic infrastructure (collection, distribution, and storage) that speaks of a region crisscrossed by ancient waterways. [1 hr 20 min] Thus, we arrive at the facilities that the Estel de Llevant association maintains in this area, with a collection of aromatic and medicinal plants.

The Memory Source

The path leads to the Valley road (Ma-3321), near the Bou pass, over the Borges stream. We turn left for a short distance, because just as the road begins its ascent out of the valley [1 hour 45 minutes], we find, on the right, the paved road we must follow and, on the left, the narrow path between wire fences, which provides access to the Na Memòria spring. "In addition to surface water resources, the Valley also has groundwater resources, thanks to the calcareous lithology of this region," Manel Santana explains. This is how the Na Memòria spring "emerges at the base of a rocky slope of Miocene limestone. The infiltrated water from the upper part feeds a spout used since ancient times (it appears in 13th-century documents). It consists of a small excavation, a kind of..." qanate or mineta, with a lowered barrel vault." The flow is powerful and is distributed through two long irrigation ditches that feed fields and mills, as we will see later.

We return to the Valle road and take the aforementioned path, the Les Rotes del Valle path. Heading northeast, we reach a house where the remains of an old paper mill are still visible [2 h 00 min]. Just as we begin to see the houses of Valle on the slopes, we find a path on the left which we follow and which should lead us to the road (Ma-3321) at kilometer marker 9. We follow it until we reach the Petra road in Son Serra (Ma-3330) at kilometer marker 40. After a short stretch, we reach the kilometer marker 10. Here, on the right, we find a dirt track which we follow, heading west, always parallel to a dry stone wall on our left.

[3 h 00 min] We emerge onto a paved road which we follow to the left, the Son Ribotet road, towards Petra, heading downhill. This last stretch of the route, bordering the municipality of Ariany, becomes a long and tiring walk, only lightened by the beautiful views of the surrounding area. The view of Mount Bonany is particularly striking. The municipal cemetery marks, as we had already announced, the end of our itinerary [3 h 55 min].

@Fita_a_Fita