The tower of Albarca, at the starting point of the GR 222

PalmaIn this itinerary we explore the beginning of the Artà-Lluc route, the GR 222. A long-distance trail – one of the four existing in the Balearic Islands – that proposes to link the Llevant mountains and the natural park with the central area of the Tramuntana mountain range, declared a world heritage site by Unesco in the category of cultural landscape. Along the way we find a great variety of environments, some of great uniqueness, such as the almost virgin coast of the Llevant peninsula, the dune areas of the Bay of Alcúdia and the terraced slopes of the Caimari mountains.

The GR 222 consists of five stages and a variant, although not the entire route is signposted. On the Camins de Pedra website of the Consell de Mallorca you will find all the information regarding this project. Of the first stage, between Artà and l’arenalet d’Albarca, only from the coll del Racó to cala Estreta do we find wooden stakes and indicators. Therefore, the aforementioned coll is currently the official starting point of the GR. It is located 5 km from Artà, halfway along the road to cala Torta. It is accessed by the path that starts to the left of the municipal football field of les Pesqueres. Leaving the town, at the end of carrer de l’Abeurador. In general, the route does not present great complications and, in our case, it is extended by returning to the starting point by the same path. In general, we always go along a good path and downhill towards the sea, through the public estate of la Duaia. Broom, strawberry trees and sageleaf cistus make up the dominant and resistant vegetation of lands scorched in the past by fires. Now, fully regenerated, they open our way towards the Natural Park of the Llevant peninsula.

The route

[00 min] We start walking from the Racó pass itself, following the wooden signs of the GR 222 which initially point in the direction of Cala Torta and Cala Estreta. After passing a first wooden gate, we access the Duaia valley through the public estate of the same name, recently acquired by the Government. The path has no difficulty. It is wide, comfortable and usually very busy. [15 min] We pass a gate with a latch and take the well-marked path on the right. Chameleons, holm oaks and Montpellier cistus make up the dominant and resistant vegetation of land scorched in the past by fires that ravaged it at the beginning of the 70s; fortunately, now, totally regenerated.

Following the path, we will pass by a lime kiln, a silent witness to a traditional and strategic activity: the product was used to whitewash houses, to produce mortar (Majorcan cement), for the treatment of cistern water (disinfectant) and for various medicinal uses. Our itinerary plunges fully into the valley carved by the torrent of les Voltes, between Puig de l'Esquerda, on the left, and Puig Negre, on the right. [55 min] Thus we reach an important fork: the signs lead us to the right (Cala Torta and Cala Estreta), but if we continued straight ahead, we would reach the houses of Duaia de Baix, now converted into an agriturismo.

[1 h 05 min] The dirt track we have followed so far ends by dissolving into the path we will follow through the torrent de les Voltes until we reach the sea. Wooden stakes mark each of the aforementioned turns, avoiding the risk of getting lost through distraction. The small path leads us out onto a track, an old branch of the old network of roads opened in the 70s of the 20th century in a first and, fortunately, failed attempt to urbanize the area. We emerge at the sea at the height of cala Torta [1 h 35 min]. From here, we will follow the path that, facing west, will guide us to cala Mitjana [1 h 40 min] and cala Estreta [1 h 45 min]. From this point, the GR 222 signage disappears.

The path we must take from now on, called the Carrabiners, is always clearly visible, easy to follow and with continuous ups and downs, which makes it a real leg-breaker. The coastline, on the other hand, very jagged and with numerous coves and inlets, makes one think of the place name of the path. It is not in vain that we find ourselves on a coast where smuggling found good shelter to unload the packages and take them towards the secrets, inland. We pass by Cala Dèntol and shortly after we reach Cala Matzoc [2 h 20 min], with a beach surrounded by pine trees.

We must cross the beach from one end to the other. At the other end, we enter the pine forest and follow the path that, in the direction of the sea, climbs along the cliff above the Punta de la Falconera. From here onwards, a short but steep climb awaits us to the Torre d’Albarca [2 h 35 min]. It is worth taking a good break, to hydrate and rest our strength, as well as to visit and climb to the very top of the tower, built in the 18th century to defend the channel between Mallorca and Menorca, then under British rule, where we still find the cannon that served for defense.

The Torre d’Albarca

“We are referring to one of the last four towers built practically at the same time in Mallorca in the mid-18th century. It can be found documented, among others, with the names of San Fernando de Albarca, torre de cala Matzocs, la Falconera and torre d’Albranca. The construction dates from 1751 and it was not armed until December 1756, when the captain Antoni Raïms brought three iron cannons to the tower: two were of 12-calibre and came from the battery of the torre de Paraires, and the other, of 4-calibre, from the bulwark of Jesús.” (Mallorca, coastal towers and watchtowers. Vicenç Sastre and Àngel Aparicio. Dolmen Editorial, 2019).

From this point, the route could be extended to the Arenalet or Oguers refuge, to spend the night there and return one or two days later. Our option, for now, is to retrace our steps to the Racó pass, visiting again the coves of Matzoc, Dèntola, Estreta and Mitjana. And, after climbing a section of the torrent de les Voltes, follow the dirt track that runs through the entire Duaia valley to the start of our route.