Hiking and talking about the island
Elke Lässer has many stories in her rucksack when she sets off with her guests on one of her special hikes on Mallorca. The Vorarlberg native is a professional mountain guide, which means she is certified and a member of the Association of Mallorcan Mountain Guides. This makes Lässer something special: most of her colleagues are locals who speak little or no German, and German or Austrian colleagues are usually not professionally connected on site. They fly in with their group and, according to Lässer, "have neither the local knowledge nor the necessary language skills".
Lässer, on the other hand, has lived on the island for 20 years. She knows Mallorca's paths and trails inside out. She knows where locked gates are looming, which peaks are above the vegetation line and therefore made of bare, slippery stone, and in which weather conditions you shouldn't set off, even if Mallorca's climate is Mediterranean and mild. And of course she knows a thousand and one stories about her second home. A good hiking guide not only knows the paths, he also knows how to entertain his group with interesting facts about the region.
Like her colleagues, she spends most of her time in the Tramuntana mountains, where 54 thousand-metre peaks await, including Puig Major, which is almost 1,500 meters high.
On the opposite side of the island, in the flat south-east, there are other challenges and opportunities for adventure: Walking for miles through untouched nature, for example, among native plants and animals, past hand-built walls, along old smugglers' paths or freight routes used by the stonemasons who quarried the limestone by the sea.
Mountain guide Elke Lässer:
Hike the island and tell stories; because stories are a nice souvenir.
The area around Ses Salines, the southern tip, is particularly close to Lässer's heart. "Many paths lead along the coast here," she says with a healthy complexion in a café in Colònia de Sant Jordi, "because Spain's coastline must be open to the public by law."
Walking flat along the sea in the south or east is actually a hobby that most holidaymakers have yet to discover for themselves. "The area is not as spectacular as the mountains, of course," says Lässer and takes a sip of fruit tea, "but it is authentic and the landscape has hardly changed."
Hiking here is the best option for families, the inexperienced and pleasure hikers: where else can you have the sea by your side for hours? Where else can you relax on a natural sandy beach at the end?
Why it's worth going hiking in Mallorca with people who know the area and are well versed in history
If you entrust yourself to Lässer, you can also experience how unexpectedly rugged the south-east can be. Puig de les Bruixes, for example, is located in the small mountain range of Serra de Galdent, between Llucmajor and Algaida. It rises only 350 meters into the sky and yet is suitable for scrambling, even a ridge walk is offered.
"If you want to go up there and back down again, you should take someone who knows the area with you," she says - and listen to the anecdotes and folk tales about the Hexenberg and its name.
They tell the story of the eternal siege of Mallorca, as the first stones were erected by the Romans, later the Moors used them and then the Christians, who had to protect themselves from pirate attacks from North Africa and Turkey. Elke Lässer conveys all of this in passing, so to speak, at a relaxed walking pace. "Very few holidaymakers take facts and figures home with them," says Lässer, "stories, on the other hand, are a nice Mallorca souvenir."
These are the
3 most beautiful hiking routes in Mallorca
1. From Cap Ses Salines to Colònia de Sant Jordi
Park your car on the access road to the Ses Salines lighthouse. Then walk along the sea on the right. The flat coastal walk is nine kilometers long. It takes about three hours and passes numerous natural beaches: Platja Es Caragol, Cala Tugores, Platja d'es Carbó, Platja Es Dofí and Platja d'es Dolç. Ideal with two cars or with pick-ups.
2. To the Hexenberg near Randa
This moderately difficult hike starts at the parking lot of the cemetery in Llucmajor. From there, the Camí de Galdent leads directly uphill. After around 15 minutes, turn right onto the Camí de Ferrutxelles. The path winds its way uphill for a total of seven kilometers and soon offers a view of the summit. The walk takes about two and a half hours. A detailed description can be found in the town hall of the municipality of Llucmajor on the hiking map "Routes you can't miss". You can also download it online as a PDF:
3. To the Santueri fortress
The castle can be reached from the Ma-14 road, which connects Santanyí with Felanitx (at kilometer marker 13.7). From there, a signposted driveway ("Camí des Castell") leads up to the castle, which you do not leave. The easy hike takes about an hour. On a clear day, you will be rewarded with a breathtaking view from the top: you can see Cabrera off the south coast, the mountain peaks of the Tramuntana in the northwest and the wide plain in the center of the island.
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