Circular pathway to the Castell d’Alaró

Maybe you know the Alaro mountain and have seen its castle ruins from the motorway? Maybe you have been to the restaurant Es Verger, which is located halfway up the hill going towards the Castell, to eat lamb? The Es Verger is considered to be the insider tip, at least that’s what every travel guide says. Maybe you have also been up to the Castle and even higher at the small monastery church?
Most probably you don’t know the circular path that starts in Alaro, leads in direction to Orient, up to the Castell and back to Alaro. This tour cannot be done with a dog, because we have to pass through a private property where dogs are strictly forbidden. Please take this into consideration, otherwise the property could be closed for all hikers. Thanks!

This is a very long tour and it goes up and down about 1000 metres. However, one doesn´t need to be frightened as the route is secure and should be vertigo free. This tour should be quite easy with a normal physical condition. Please do take your time though!

So, we start the tour in Alaro, parking is not so easy here, so remember where you park your car. We first will walk to the area of Los d’Amunt and look for the street Carrer de Son Duran, which leads us in direction to the village of Orient. So, for now we don’t need to worry in what direction to walk for the next kilometres. We are going to be walking on a partly steep and paved road passing gardens, meeting donkeys and sheep, and after approximately 1 hour we have to look for a beaten track where you can find an arrow marked on a wooden block on the left side, where we leave the road. Now we are on a pathway, which is also rocky and steep in the middle of a holm oak forest. The path is quite easy to see, but be careful not to leave it. It still goes uphill until you reach a pass. I always like to have a rest here, as to the left one has the view of the L’Ofre, the Tossals, for the first time as far as Massanella.

From here it goes downhill into the fertile plateau of the village of Orient. On half-decayed stone terraces with overgrown olive trees and along an old water pipe to the cultivated fields and green areas with sheep. In the plateau we meet the road that leads from Alaro to Orient. We follow this road to the right until we reach the 500-metre-high pass, the Coll de Orient. Now we have to go through the gate. From here on dogs are not allowed. The way from here is easy to find.

We first walk through a beautiful, very well-maintained olive grove, where sheep graze with their lambs. Later the path climbs steeper and winds up the mountain into a forest of mixed pine and stone oak trees.

At Meeting Point there is a pathway to the right that leads to the restaurant Es Verger and our pathway to the left, up to Castell d’Alaro and then on to the Puig de Alaro, 822 metres high.

Here you can no longer get lost. At the top of the mountain there is the old monastery church and in one of the buildings there is a bar where you can have coffee and cake, a drink as well as pamboli. The views from here are absolutely breathtaking!

From here you can see the whole bay of Palma, and if you have good eyesight you can see as far as Palma Cathedral. On a clear day you can see the island of Cabrera, which is another 25 kilometres south of the southern tip of Mallorca.

From here we can see the Felantix hillside and the Arta mountains, the bay of Alcudia and the highest mountains of the Tramuntana mountain range, the Puig Mayor, the Massanell, the Tomir as well as many more. You could probably sit there forever, but you must remember that it will take you another two and a half hours to get back to Alaro to your car. There are 2 possibilities for this, both of which end on the small road from the restaurant Es Verger and arrive down in Alaro. The ways to Alaro are well sign posted and cannot be missed. Now you just have to find your parked car.

 

Further hiking tips in other places:  Bunyola  |  Cala Boquer  |  Cuber  |  Santa Magdalena | Talaia d´Alcudia