Mallorca Activities
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What else, besides the rockclimbing, can you do in Mallorca?
A variety of activities is the very “point” of Mallorca, and for this point you can come back here over and over again, always finding something new to do and to see.
This is also the unique difference between the island of Mallorca and other our rockclimbing locations - all of them, of course, are good in their own way, but only Mallorca offers so wide combination of sports, natural, cultural and historical facilities for building daily leisure.
When planning regular climbing trainings in Mallorca, one cannot deny himself the pleasure of diluting the training schedule with other equally interesting activities, coming up with exciting excursions and trips for the rest days, or simply exploring the possibilities of evening walks in the neighboring towns immersed in their centuries-old history. It turns out into the almost perfect distribution of time - the morning and day time are devoted to the sports activities, the afternoon and evening – for cultural and romantic leisure.
For all its diversity, Mallorca does not offer anything bright and intrusive - for some tourists, this feature of the island looks boring in its own way. But in fact, this is just a sign of a high culture of consumption - you always have the opportunity to choose exactly what you need, without being distracted by bright and catchy signs, the essence of which is usually to sell a surrogate.
Mallorca in this regard is almost ideal for those who are not used to grabbing anything just because it shines. But, having made your choice - you will never be disappointed - there will be no hidden defects or any market tricks. You will not get the damaged goods. On the contrary, as a rule, you are getting more than you expected, and then study your unexpected acquisition with a surprised smile.
To list all the possible options for non-sporting leisure activities in Mallorca you will need to write a whole book. Moreover, in any Mallorca shop dedicated to active leisure activities, you will find dozens of books that will open up for you the most unexpected aspects and possibilities of the island.
Here, I will only hint at the vast range of the interesting activities that you can devote yourself to in Mallorca, if get tired of rockclimbing.
In the small and insignificant things, you can often find the warmest and brightest emotions, which later will remain in the treasury of your life impressions along with the most valuable and major life events. Of the options for short impressions of Mallorca, I just can list a few - the rest depends only on your desire and imagination. Usually it is an integral part of the daily routine, a minimal necessary portion of the positive emotions and energy:
Walking along the seashore of Mediterranean is a calm and comfortable activity.
-the coastal zone is equipped with footpaths everywhere, no fences and stupid prohibitions, police patrols or security guards.
Sunset trip.
-the relief of Mallorca allows you to drown in the most unexpected and unique sunset colors every evening. It is also possible to enjoy sunrise, but for this you will have to get up quite early in the morning, so as a rule, everyone is too lazy.
Evening walk through the narrow streets of medieval towns.
- there are many of them in Mallorca. Each town has its own unique atmosphere, cozy tranquility and tiny restaurants that roll out their small tables into the streets in the evening and offer to the passers-by a simple but amazingly delicious set of the local dishes and homemade wines.
Right now, the main thing is not to get carried away and not to plunge into the enumeration of an endless list of insignificant, but very bright and, in its own way, warm impressions. Having made an effort, I will move on to the next stage - I will talk a little about the possibilities of full-day trips and excursions. I will try to list only what we do regularly - the most obvious and interesting thing to do in the breaks of our rockclimbing trainings.
Walk around in the capital city of Mallorca - Palma de Mallorca.
-it is the largest "city" in Mallorca with a population of as many as 400,000 inhabitants.
Founded by the Romans BC, Palma de Mallorca throughout its history has been at the center of the most exciting events in Europe. The architecture of the city has retained the influence of almost all the events of the last 2000 years of our civilization.
This atmosphere is very noticeable, especially in the city center, where you can spend hours walking along the narrow streets, admire the second largest cathedral in Spain, enjoy well-groomed parks and boulevards. In Palma, the atmosphere of a calm and peaceful lifestyle reigns, every minute has its meaning and value.
Visit the concert hall of Palma de Mallorca.
-the cultural life of the island does not lag behind other areas of quality leisure. Weekly concerts are held in the well-equipped modern halls. Here you can enjoy the performances of the famous European artists and musical groups - the concert program is available throughout the year.
The Palma Cathedral also regularly hosts organ music concerts - for this event people come even from the continental Europe - the chance to listen to one of the most famous organs in Europe attracts a huge audience.
Historical museums of Palma
-that is a great way to plunge into the depths of the dark Middle Ages and understand some of the features of Mallorca, which determine the style and rhythm of the modern life of the island.
Excursion to the famous Lluc monastery.
-in the past – it was a center of the religious activity of the island, inextricably linked with most of the historical events of the last millennium. Today it is a functioning catholic temple, museum, a botanical garden and a very beautiful place for quiet walks.
Excursion to the fortress of Alaro.
-the impregnable citadel on top of the rock of the same name has become famous since the time of the Reconquista - here for a long time the defenders of the island held the defense against the Moors. The days of the glorious battles of the Middle Ages are gone, but the impregnable walls with narrow loopholes still rise on the top of the cliff - the citadel of Alaro, which has never been conquered.
From the top of the Alaro fortress, you can see the entire island at a glance, from Palma to Alcudia. And the sheer base of the rock has been for a long time mastered by local rockclimbers to equip first-class routes.
A visit to this location allows you to combine rockclimbing training with an excursion to the ancient fortress and even a wonderful romantic evening in a cozy family restaurant located in the building of a medieval tavern, which is over 700 years old.
The caves of the island of Mallorca are another option for active leisure.
-due to the peculiarities of the geological structure, Mallorca is rich in a wide variety of karst formations - caves, grottoes, underground rivers and lakes.
In most cases, these caving facilities are available only to specialists, but some of them are equipped for tourists. As an example, the Dragon Cave should be mentioned - a huge underground gallery with beautiful grottoes, stalactites and stalagmites, equipped with lighting and walking paths. In the depths of the cave there is a huge underground lake in a giant grotto. This grotto is designed in the form of a concert hall - about a hundred spectators can be accommodated on the benches.
A boat with musicians playing classical music glides along the mirror surface of the underground lake. The incredible acoustics of the underground grotto emphasizes all the unusualness and surprisingness of this experience.
Excursion to the talaiots of the island of Mallorca.
-this is a very strange and unusual impression of contact with that part of the history of the mankind, which is practically lost. Strange stone structures - Talaiots - of varying degrees of preservation have remained in Mallorca from the immemorial time before the Roman period.
This part of the history of Europe has not been studied - too little information has been preserved about those people or creatures that inhabited these lands 3-4000 years ago. They left clear traces of their activity - cyclopean constructions, the method of construction and the purpose of which cannot be explained by the modern scientists.
A fairly large number of these artifacts have been preserved in Mallorca - the local people are so accustomed to them that many Talaiots are used for the household needs. But for those who are able to understand the age of these structures and the amount of mysteries associated with them, this is an amazing experience of traveling through the time and touching the unknown.
The spring Font Ufanes are one of the natural mysteries of Mallorca.
-at a certain time, a powerful spring of fresh water begins to fountain out of the earth, immediately forming a turbulent stream that fills the deep bed of the river. In huge quantities, water literally flows out of the ground and after a few meters a real mountain river roars and bubbles. The intensity of the spring reaches at the certain times up to 100³ m per second which is a really impressive amount of water.
The spring works strictly according to the schedule on the certain days - at other times it is quiet and calm in the forest, you will not find a drop of water at the bottom of the dry river bed, which was so full literally the days before. The mechanics of the spring and the reasons for such a difference in its intensity are unknown.
Visit to Formentor Light
That is the highlight of all my climbing and non-climbing programs in Mallorca. We have never missed this enchanting moment - the meeting of the rising sun on the easternmost tip of the island, where the most beautiful lighthouse of the island of Mallorca is located - at the crazy height of a huge cliff. This lighthouse is active.
Perhaps, here I will force myself to stop, otherwise the planned enumeration of just some impressions from Mallorca will turn into a whole novel.
I will not spoil your own impressions from the island - in order to become a character in this novel, you just need to come to Mallorca and immerse yourself in this friendly and radiant world of simple, but pure and naive emotions.
The author of the text and photos - Alex Trubachev
Your guide on the rockclimbing and hiking trails of Spain and Mallorca
MCS EDIT 2023