Last updated: March 2026
Mallorca was somewhere I’d always wanted to visit, but it wasn’t for the mountains; it was for the crystal-clear blue waters and some much-needed sun. To be blunt, I didn’t realise there were any mountains in Mallorca. After the ubiquitous uni trip to Ibiza, where we drove to the island's highest point in what was a nerve-wracking first experience driving abroad, I assumed that all of the Balearics consisted of wooded hills. Beautiful, sure, but nothing to write home about. Imagine my excitement then, after booking a trip to Mallorca for Ros to do a sea swim, when I realised that there were proper mountains on the island. (I’m not sure Ros was so thrilled after her sea swim.)
Mallorca is home to the beautiful Serra de Tramuntana mountains, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011. This 90 km-long limestone range tops out at 1,436 m. Whilst the highest peak is home to a military base, so out of bounds for the majority of us, there are 54 peaks over 1,000 m and hundreds of kilometres of hiking trails. There’s even a challenge to climb all 54 (Los 54 Miles) – I’m not entirely sure how they handle the whole military base thing. While 1,000 m doesn’t sound enormous, even in the context of other Spanish peaks, most of these will be climbed from near sea-level, so they feel every bit like real mountains. One of the most popular of these is Puig de Galatzó, or the “Matterhorn of Mallorca" – there’s a Matterhorn everywhere if you look hard enough.
