Within the vast terrain of Mallorca’s Northwest region, home to the Serra de Tramuntana Mountains, are found charming hilltop villages, endless hiking and cycling trails, rocky beaches, old stone fincas and an appreciation of rugged and rural living.
Mallorca’s Northwest region is defined by the Serra de Tramuntana Mountains and a host of quaint villages, olive and almond trees, sheep and mountain goats, excellent hiking trails and dramatic cliffs. While there are many ways to look at the map of Mallorca, for our purposes, starting in the south, we include in the Northwest region: the village of Puigpunyent up north to the beaches of Sa Calobra and the monastery of Lluc. Within this area are found some of the most popular towns to live and visit including Valldemossa, Deia, Soller and Fornalutx, where shops and restaurants are plentiful and contemporary life is met with traditional ways.
The Sóller Valley, once known as the “Golden Valley” because of its rich agricultural history, is filled with orange and lemon trees, as well as pomegranates, persimmons and avocados. The Valley includes the town of Sóller, Port de Sóller, the quaint micro-village of Biniaraix, a gateway to a favourite hike along the GR 221, and Fornalutx, an exclusive hillside village once voted Spain’s most beautiful village. Sóller is one of the larger towns in the region, featuring a lively pedestrian street with independent shops and restaurants and it is the home of the popular Sóller train, which has a smaller tram that goes to the Port de Sóller and the larger train to Palma.
The Northwest is also home to beautiful beaches, both sand beaches with all the amenities, such as Port de Sóller, which has a kilometre long boardwalk with shops and restaurants and stylish Esplendido Hotel, as well as out of the way rocky outcrops like Llucalcari, where one can jump off the rocks into the sea. Perhaps the most visited beach in this Northwest region is Sa Calobra and Cala Tuent, both accessed by a legendarily curvy road or via boat. Incredibly busy beach destinations despite them being difficult to reach, they do merit a visit.
