Day 1: Arrive Port Alcúdia — Northern Gateway
Arrive Palma de Mallorca Airport, transfer to Port Alcúdia on the northern coast. Welcome briefing with your Eurohike guide covering the GR221 trail, daily distances, weather considerations, and the fascinating history of the Dry Stone Route — named for the ancient technique of building terraces, paths, and walls without mortar that has shaped the Tramuntana landscape for millennia. Afternoon walk along the Port d’Alcudia beachfront — 3km of shallow, turquoise water backed by the distant Tramuntana peaks you’ll soon be climbing. Welcome dinner featuring Mallorcan specialties: tumbet (layered vegetable dish), sobrassada (paprika-cured sausage), and ensaïmada (traditional spiral pastry). Overnight Port Alcúdia.
Day 2: Pollença to Lluc Monastery — Pilgrim’s Path (16km, +650m)
Transfer to Pollença. The GR221 begins in earnest: follow the Camí Vell de Lluc (Old Path to Lluc), an ancient pilgrim trail winding upward through holm oak (Quercus ilex) forests and terraced olive groves. The cobbled path — laid centuries ago by the same dry-stone technique that gives the GR221 its name — switchbacks through the foothills, with views opening across the northern plains to the sea. Pass the Font de la Galera spring and the Creu de Menut stone cross marking the halfway point. The final approach to Lluc is dramatic: the golden stone monastery complex appears suddenly in a mountain basin at 525m elevation, surrounded by the Serra’s highest peaks. Visit the basilica housing La Moreneta (the Black Madonna) — Mallorca’s patron saint, a 13th-century dark wooden statue of the Virgin and Child. If visiting during term time, hear the famous Blauets (the monastery’s boys’ choir) sing. Overnight at Lluc Monastery guesthouse — simple but atmospheric rooms within the sanctuary walls.
Day 3: Lluc Monastery to Tossal Verds (14km, +480m)
Depart Lluc climbing into the high Tramuntana. The trail ascends through the Comafreda valley — a landscape of limestone karst, ancient snow houses (cases de neu, 17th-century ice storage pits dug into the mountainside), and scattered charcoal-burner platforms. The climb to the Coll de sa Batalla pass (576m) is rewarded with the day’s reward: Tossal Verds (the ‘Green Hill’, 903m). From this panoramic summit the view extends 360 degrees — the northern coast with Alcúdia and Pollença bays, the central Tramuntana peaks (Puig Major at 1,436m, the island’s highest), and on clear days, the outline of Menorca floating on the eastern horizon. Descend to a mountain refugi (hut) — basic but comfortable accommodation with communal dinner and the camaraderie of fellow hikers. Overnight mountain refugi.
Day 4: Tossal Verds to Sóller via Biniaraix (16km, -800m)
A classic GR221 day. Morning traverse along the Barranc de Biniaraix — one of Mallorca’s most spectacular ravines, where the ancient cobbled path (listed as a cultural monument) switchbacks down through 1,000-year-old olive terraces, each stone step worn smooth by centuries of feet and hooves. The gorge walls rise steeply on both sides, and the soundtrack is pure Mallorca: sheep bells, the wind through holm oaks, and the distant chime of a mountain stream. The descent delivers you into the Sóller Valley — the ‘Valley of Gold’ bursting with orange and lemon groves. Check into your Sóller hotel, then enjoy a well-earned dip at Port de Sóller’s horseshoe bay. Evening: fresh orange juice at a Plaça Constitució cafe. Overnight Sóller.
Day 5: Sóller Rest Day — Tramuntana Coastal Loop (optional, 10km)
Rest day in the Sóller Valley. Optional light walk: the coastal path from Port de Sóller to the Torre Picada watchtower (17th century), with stirring views across the bay and the open Mediterranean. Alternatively, visit Deià by the coastal trail (10km round trip) — a spectacular cliffside path through pine forests with the sea always in view. Sóller town warrants exploration: the modernist architecture (Can Prunera, Banco de Sóller), the Sant Bartomeu church, and the Saturday market filling the square with local produce. Or simply do nothing — Sóller’s cafes, the port’s beaches, and the valley’s golden light make for a perfect recovery day. Overnight Sóller.
Day 6: Sóller to Deià — The Coastal GR221 (13km, +400m)
Rejoin the GR221 on its most scenic coastal section. The trail climbs out of Sóller and traverses the dramatic northwest coast — a path etched into cliffsides with the Mediterranean unspooling below. Pass through pine forests, past the historic finca of Son Mico, and along ancient mule tracks where olive oil was once transported from mountain mills to the port. The approach to Deià is unforgettable: the village appears like a painting — honey-colored stone houses cascading down a hillside to a tiny rocky cove, the church tower of Sant Joan Baptista silhouetted against the sky. Check into your Deià hotel, then hike down to Cala Deià — a pebble beach wedged between cliffs with the legendary fish restaurant Ca’s Patro March perched above the water. Overnight Deià.
Day 7: Deià to Valldemossa — Chopin’s Footsteps (15km, +550m)
The GR221 continues along the coast through some of Mallorca’s most beautiful landscapes. The trail climbs to the Mirador de Sa Foradada — a famous viewpoint where the setting sun aligns perfectly with a natural rock arch (the ‘Foradada’, meaning ‘pierced’), creating Mallorca’s most photographed sunset. Pass the Archduke’s Path (Camí de s’Arxiduc), built by Archduke Ludwig Salvator of Austria in the 19th century — a contour trail with breathtaking sea views. The route descends into Valldemossa, one of Mallorca’s most beautiful mountain villages. The star attraction: the Real Cartuja de Valldemossa — the 14th-century Carthusian monastery where Frédéric Chopin and the writer George Sand spent the winter of 1838-39. Chopin composed some of his most beloved Preludes here (including the famous ‘Raindrop’ Prelude) on a Pleyel piano now displayed in Cell 4. Walk the monastery’s cloistered gardens and the tiny streets lined with flower-draped stone houses. Overnight Valldemossa.
Day 8: Valldemossa to Esporles — Chestnut Forests & Final Stage (15km, +300m)
Final day on the GR221. The trail leaves Valldemossa through the Son Moragues estate — an ancient hunting reserve of the Mallorcan kings — and enters deep chestnut and holm oak forests. The landscape softens from the dramatic coastal cliffs to a gentler, greener terrain of shaded woodland paths, moss-covered dry-stone walls, and small mountain streams. Arrive Esporles — a charming Tramuntana village at the foot of the range, known for its traditional architecture, the Sa Granja estate (a 17th-century manor house turned museum of Mallorcan rural life), and its lively Sunday market. Farewell celebration dinner featuring lechona (roast suckling pig) and local wines. Overnight Esporles.
Day 9: Departure
Transfer from Esporles to Palma de Mallorca Airport for departure.
