GR221

Your walk from
Port d'Andratx to
Port de Pollença

You'll walk 138 kilometres along the spine of the Serra de Tramuntana, on old mule paths and dry-stone walling rather than the coast road, with more than 5,000 metres of climbing and one night in a mountain refuge with no road in. A route that earns its quiet.

Distance: 138 km · 86 mi
Ascent: 5,231 m
Duration: 3–9 days

Trips from £889pp See packages →

From — per person

Plan your trip

Mallorca Spain

Start: Port d'AndratxMallorca
End: Port de PollençaMallorca
Distance: 138 km86 miles
Total Ascent: 5,231 m17,162 ft

Difficulty

Challenging

Hilliness

Mountainous

Time to Complete

Explorer

9 days ~15 km/day

Hiker

7 days ~19 km/day

Fastpacker

5 days ~27 km/day

Trail Runner

3 days ~46 km/day

When to Walk

Best Good Avoid

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

The GR221 — Mallorca's Ruta de Pedra en Sec, the Dry Stone Route — runs 86 miles down the Serra de Tramuntana from the harbour at Port d'Andratx to the bay at Port de Pollença. You walk past the ruined monastery at La Trapa, over Moorish farming terraces, through Valldemossa and Deià where Chopin and Graves once worked, up the stepped gorge of the Barranc de Biniaraix, and across the high passes under Puig de Massanella. It is a mountain route in a place most people only see from a beach - steep, dry, and walled on both sides by the centuries-old stonework that gives it its name. Most of it is well above the resorts, and most days you have it to yourself.

Walking the GR221

How The Trail Unfolds

Your trail divides naturally into three parts — not by day, but by where the path runs. First the western cliffs and the first dry-stone walls; then inland through the villages where Chopin and Graves settled; finally the high Tramuntana, a refuge night, and the long descent to Pollença Bay.

Port d'Andratx to Banyalbufar

Where the Walls Begin

The route's namesake dry-stone walls first appear here, on a cliff coast above Sa Dragonera and the open Mediterranean.

Your opening stretch climbs straight out of Port d'Andratx through pine and rosemary, with the sea below and Sa Dragonera — a long, uninhabited island reserve — filling the view west. You pass the ruined Trappist monastery at La Trapa, abandoned in the nineteenth century, then drop and climb again across Moorish-era farming terraces above Estellencs. The first dry-stone walls appear early and never really stop: mortarless, centuries old, the engineering that gives the route its name. By Banyalbufar, the cliffs have softened into vine and tomato terraces stepping down to the water.

Banyalbufar to Sóller

The Writers' Coast

Inland through holm-oak forest and the Archduke's engineered cliff paths, into the villages where Chopin and Graves came to work.

The trail turns away from the open cliffs into shade. You climb through holm-oak woods past the fourteenth-century Planicia estate toward Valldemossa, where Chopin spent the winter of 1838–39 and finished his Op. 28 Preludes. From there, you climb onto the Camí de s'Arxiduc - paths cut under Archduke Ludwig Salvator in the nineteenth century purely to frame the coast, looking down past Son Marroig and the pierced sea rock of Na Foradada. The trail leads to Deià, where Robert Graves lived and is buried. A steep drop to the cove at Cala Deià, then down into the citrus valley above Sóller.

Sóller to Port de Pollença

The High Tramuntana

The mountain section — a stepped gorge, a refuge night under Massanella, a high pass, and the long fall to the bay.

This is the serious country. Out of Sóller you climb the Barranc de Biniaraix, a cobbled gorge of more than two thousand stone steps rising into the range. The path crosses high, open ground to the Tossals Verds refuge — a remote mountain night with no road access, where your main bag cannot follow. The next day, you cross the Coll des Prat pass under the shadow of Puig de Massanella—which, at 1,364 metres, is the highest peak walkers can summit on the island. From there, you drop to the sanctuary at Lluc, then descend through oak forest for hours until Pollença Bay opens below.

— Now Make It Yours —

Find Your GR221

Most people walk it in 7 days. Some want longer to take it all in. Others want the challenge of doing it quicker. Pick the trip that suits you — or customise yours below.

ABTOT 5690 · Financially protected Guidebook authors on every trail 72-hour confirmation or no charge Refund promise if we can't deliver

Included with every trip

Your personalised
Trail Book

Everything you need for every day of your trail — built around your exact itinerary. Your route, your accommodation, your packing list. Ready before you leave, works offline when you're out there.

Tonight's accommodation

Check-in time, room type, phone number and directions — all in one place

Day-by-day trail description

Route map, elevation profile and written description for each stage

Packing list and pre-trip checklist

Everything you need, nothing you don't. Tick items off as you go

Works offline

Open it once with data and it's yours — no signal needed on the trail

Included with every trip

Your route on every device you use

Your custom GPX file is built around your exact itinerary — day by day, door to door. Load it onto any device or app before you set off and navigate with confidence.

Works with

GPX route on Komoot iPhone app and Garmin watch

Hear it from the trail

Al & Richard

Al and Richard have been married for 37 years. The GR221 in Mallorca was their first trail together. One of them carried a hardback Frederick Forsyth novel the entire way. Essential.

“"My problem has been that my face has ached so much because I've just smiled all my way round. It was just a joyous experience."”

Read Al’s story →

Craig, Trail Specialist at Big Trail Adventures

Talk to a Specialist

Knows the trail. Plans yours.

Craig Trail Specialist

The GR221 is what I point people towards when they've done something like the West Highland Way and want sun and a different kind of rock underfoot. Book the Tossals Verds refuge early — there's one night up there and the beds go. Go in spring if you can.

Craig has spent over ten years in adventure travel, most of it talking walkers through trails like this one. He's planned the GR221 for dozens of customers, knows where people underestimate the heat and the climbing, and has the calls in his pocket from people who walked it the week before you.

Ask Craig about the GR221

If you want to talk through your timing, your fitness, your pace, or anything the planner can't answer — call. Most of our customers do, and Craig's the one who'll answer.

Call us · 8am–6pm 0131 560 2740 hello@bigtrailadventures.com

How fit do I need to be?

You'll want to be comfortable walking around 22 kilometres a day with a daypack, with several sustained climbs of 500–800 metres, often in heat. That's the Hiker pace, seven days. If that sounds like a lot, the Explorer pace spreads the same route over nine days with shorter days and more recovery.

When should I walk it?

March, April, May and October are the best months — manageable temperatures, the refuge open, water in the springs. February and November can work depending on the year. Avoid June to August: the Tramuntana gets very hot and exposed, and the long climbs become genuinely punishing.

Do you include luggage transfer?

Yes, on the village stages — one bag per person, up to 20 kg, moved hotel to hotel while you walk. The exception is the mountain section over Tossals Verds: there's no road to the refuge, so you carry an overnight bag for that one night and your main luggage skips ahead to meet you on the far side.

What kind of accommodation do you book?

Family-run rural hotels, restored manor houses and traditional village guesthouses, with breakfast and en-suite rooms. In Sóller and Pollença there's more choice; in the smaller villages options are limited, so we book early. The one mountain night is a bunk in the Tossals Verds refuge — simple, shared, and the only thing up there.

Can I walk it solo?

Yes. The GR221 is well waymarked with red-and-white flashes the whole way, and between March and October there are usually other walkers around. The villages are small and used to walkers. We add a single supplement to cover single-occupancy rooms, and you'll never be far from a village with a café.

What's the realistic total cost?

The Hiker package starts at £889 per person. On top of that: flights to Palma (cheap and frequent from the UK), lunches and drinks on the trail, tourist taxes and any extra nights you add at the start or end.

Still not sure? Ring us on 0131 560 2740 — Craig usually answers.

Still Thinking?

Speak to Craig

If you've scrolled this far, we need to help you get onto this trail. The bit the planner can't help with — "is the pace right for me?", "is August really that busy?", "can we add a rest day in Keswick?" — that's a two-minute phone call. Most people who book the GR221 ring first.

Call us · 8am–6pm 0131 560 2740 Or email Craig →

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Your walk from
Port d'Andratx to
Port de Pollença