Puig de Randa: Three Sanctuaries Trail

Anyone who has ever looked out of the airplane window when arriving or departing from Mallorca has certainly noticed the Puig de Randa with its distinctive transmitters. Far away from the large crowds of tourists, you can hike here in peace and with sensational views over the entire island. The reward is the bar at the summit. The route is hardly signposted, but easy to find on the way there. On the way back, a few fallen trees and dense vegetation make it difficult to get around and find your way around.

Since it was not possible to dive today due to the foothills of the hurricane depression "Ciaran" over Western Europe, we decided to go on a hike. It started in Randa in a parking lot where horses are also allowed to park (see photos). Sometimes we went parallel to the road, sometimes on the road and sometimes we took shortcuts further and further up until we reached the entrance to the Santuari de Nostra Senyora de Gràcia monastery. We still had a relatively good view there, but we could see a dark weather front in the distance. The monastery was unfortunately closed for renovation work and so we followed our path up past the hermitage of Sant Honorat to the Cura summit (534m) where there is a radar and radio mast station and a former monastery school. Nowadays it is a museum and has been converted into a restaurant and guest house. Below the complex there is a cave in which the hermit Ramon Llull lived. The descent is a bit reminiscent of paths through the Corsican maquis: a wide variety of bushes, plants, narrow hiking trails around fallen trees, over hill and dale, past extremely prickly plants (luckily we weren't wearing shorts) and finally we even discovered it Strawberry bush (French Arbusier). Shortly before we reached Randa again there was a small snake in front of us, which at first lashed out and reared up when we approached, but then ran away. Life is Beautiful.

After we finished diving here on Mallorca, today we went on a short hike in the interior of the island. 🤗

Used the rental car for the last time today and made 2 nice tours. The 1 tour was moderately difficult. Start and finish was Ronda. The weather was fantastic today and we really enjoyed the tour. In the afternoon we went to the bay of Cala pi. An easy route but fantastically beautiful. LG 🙋‍♂️😊

A beautiful tour. Partly shady paths with a lot of scree. Sturdy shoes and telescopic poles certainly don't hurt. Don't forget sun protection. Lots of dead wood and lush vegetation on the paths, take long trousers, preferably zip-off trousers. The grass on the path can be "cutting". With a small 👶 in the carrier, I wouldn't recommend the descent because of the vegetation. It might be better to take the road here.

Randa is located in the middle of the hilly interior. Many racing cyclists wind their way up and down the serpentines. It's a lot shadier on foot :-) Ascent from the south is a bit flatter on this loop. There are a lot of stones lying around on the single path. Be careful if it's a little wet. You have to cross the street a few times. In between there is a bench with a view to the south. Above is a monastery with souvenirs, hosteria, restaurant and lots of racing bikes in all classes. Coffee cake everything there. The descent over the mushroom-heavy, shady, steeper side is very natural. Sticks are very useful in the round. The last km to Randa goes directly along the road. Attention (!) In Randa itself there is a small cafe/bar directly at the free car park as the start/finish point. Goodbye.

Interesting moderately difficult tour on and around the Puig de Randa, past the three monasteries, on mostly rocky hiking trails; sometimes in the shade. The short stretches on the asphalt access road are not a major distraction. The views in all directions, especially from the summit, are excellent.

From the Ermita de Sant Honorat down the hiking trail, it is currently (03.23) recommended to take a pruning shears or chainsaw with you