Epic Hikes of the World ( PDFDrive )

Long brushed aside as being a cheap package-break destination in the Med,
serious hikers would once have rolled their eyes in disbelief at the mention of
Mallorca for a multiday ramble. No more: the biggest and most dramatic of
the Balearic Islands is finally being fêted for the phenomenal beauty of its coastline
and mountains. And striking out on the Ruta de Pedra en Sec (Dry Stone Route) –
or GR221 – gets you to the bits others rarely see. Broken up into eight stages and
mostly patched together from old mule tracks, the trail is named after the dry-stone
walls that interweave the island’s heights, hemming in silver-green olive groves,
citrus-laden orchards, terraced vineyards and pine forest.
In staggering contrast to the built-up resorts, the trail, still partly unsigned, leads
deep into the island’s little-explored hinterland and high into the ragged wilderness
and ravines of the Serra de Tramuntana, Mallorca’s backbone. Tracing a rough
line through the north of the island, this Unesco-listed landscape is ensnared by
limestone peaks scarred by the elements. Here, ochre-stone villages cling to