Cape Formentor

Can Picafort

The shore of the northeast coast, with a sculpture on the rocks and the Bay of Alcúdia behind.

Mallorca in mid-October: a sea that is still deep blue, big autumn clouds and warm afternoon light. The largest of the Balearic Islands has the Serra de Tramuntana in its northwest, a limestone range that follows almost the whole length of the coast and has been a UNESCO cultural landscape since 2011, with dry-stone terraces, villages and roads cut into the slopes.

Alcúdia

Gates in the medieval walls of the old town, with palm trees in front.

Pollença

A town in northern Mallorca at the foot of the Serra de Tramuntana.

Mirador Es Colomer

A lookout on the road to Cape Formentor, above cliffs that drop straight into the sea.

The trip begins right there, in the north of the island. From a viewpoint on the Formentor peninsula, cliffs fall into the sea with a rocky islet standing off them under an evening sky. On the same day, Pollença spreads across its valley between wooded hills, in Alcúdia the gates of the medieval walls stand among palm trees, and on the shore at Santa Margalida a sculpture looks out over the Bay of Alcúdia.

Portocolom

A small cove of turquoise water framed by low rocks and pines, and sunrise over the same east coast.

Manacor

A sheltered bay on the east coast, with a beach and white houses along the shore.

The following days follow the east and south coasts. At Felanitx, a small cove of turquoise water opens between low limestone rocks and pines, and at dawn the sun rises out of the sea above the same coast; at Manacor, another sheltered bay has a beach and white houses along the shore. Farther south, near Campos, the evaporation ponds of the salt flats stretch out in front of the inland hills.

Sa Calobra

The gorge of the Torrent de Pareis opens to the sea between sheer limestone walls, with a pebble beach at its mouth.

Campos

The salt ponds of the south coast, with the island's mountains in the distance.

Bellver Castle

From the circular castle on the hill, the whole Bay of Palma, its harbor and the city.

On October 18 the road to Sa Calobra winds down through the Serra de Tramuntana in hairpins and between rock walls until it reaches the sea. The bay has clear water, anchored boats and limestone cliffs, and next to it the Torrent de Pareis opens its gorge onto a beach of white pebbles between sheer walls.

Palma de Mallorca

The Gothic cathedral of La Seu above the seafront walls and the lake of the Parc de la Mar, with the Almudaina Palace beside it.

Cape Formentor

The road winding out to the tip of the peninsula, the coves below and the white lighthouse on the last rock.

In Palma, the capital, the Gothic cathedral of La Seu rises above the seafront walls and the lake of the Parc de la Mar, with the Almudaina Palace beside it. Work on it began in the 13th century, after James I of Aragon conquered the island, and in the early 20th century Antoni Gaudí worked on the renovation of its interior. On the hill above the city, Bellver Castle, built in the 14th century on a circular plan that is rare in Europe, looks out over the harbor and the bay. On October 21 the road along the Formentor peninsula rises and falls over the ridge, lined with stone walls, to the white lighthouse at its tip, with turquoise coves below. The last day brings the south coast near Llucmajor, with heavy surf and a wooden stairway leading down to the rocks.

Cala Figuera

A small cove of clear water between rocks and pines.

Llucmajor

The south coast with heavy surf and a wooden stairway leading down to the sea.