Walking through Torrent de Pareis, Mallorca

The mountains in the region of Port de Sa Calobra. Taken during our drive back from the walk.

Our walk through Torrent de Pareis was our third hike on Mallorca (Read about our first two hikes in Levant Nature Park). Situated in the north-western region of the island, the entire route starts from a town called Escorca and ends at the port in Sa Calobra (this website has more details). Unfortunately, we didn’t hike the entire route as it would have taken a full day to complete and we didn’t have the time on this occasion. Driving to Escorca from Porto Cristo (where our hotel was) took almost two hours over the mountain range, Serra de Tramuntana but admittedly, we made many stops along the way to admire the breath-taking views and to take heaps of pictures. While we drove to Sa Calobra, we noticed that there were buses available although none were working in winter. I reckon during spring and summer, Port de Sa Calobra would be swarmed with people.

Rock formations during the drive to and from Port de Sa Calobra.

We started our walk from the end at Port de Sa Calobra and worked our way through the gorge towards the starting point in Escorca. We walked as far in as possible before turning around and walking back out before sunset. During this season (winter), the canyon was empty, empty of people (or very very few people. We met only 2 other couples at the entrance) and empty from the dried up river. 

Torrent de Pareis: Passageways in the gorge.

The gorge itself was astonishing with steep cliffs as high as 300 meters! Massive boulders littered the valley dividing the gorge into sections. In fact, there were some parts where we needed to climb over rocks and through holes in between boulders. Sometimes ropes were provided to ease the crossing. While we didn’t find the trail particularly challenging, it was indeed a thrilling experience!

Walking through the gorge feeling tiny. 🙂

On the day we made this walk, the rocks were cold but smooth and dry which was fortunate for us. I can imagine the danger in completing this hike right after rain when everything would be wet and slippery. The rocks were not always smooth; some were rough with sharp edges so precautions should be taken when making this hike. The other concerning thing regarding this trail was the lack of any data transmission in the gorge. Our mobile phones and GPS monitoring apps were useless so if any accidents happened while scrambling, I could only imagine the worst. Still, many people including myself would walk this trail to behold the remarkable wonders and beauty of the gorge.

The fact that we didn’t get to complete the entire route only gives us an excuse to come back and do it again…from start to finish. I’ll be looking forward to it! 🙂

Mouth of Torrent de Pareis taken from Port de Sa Calobra.