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WALK 2

Port d’Andratx and Pintal Vermell

Start	Footbridge, Port d’Andratx
Finish	Bus stop, Sant Elm
Distance	9km (5½ miles)
Total ascent/descent	370m (1215ft)
Time	3hrs
Terrain	Fairly easy roads, tracks and paths, but one path needs care to locate
Map	Alpina Tramuntana Sud
Refreshment	Plenty of choice at Port d’Andratx and Sant Elm
Transport	Buses serve Port d’Andratx and Sant Elm from Andratx

The forested hills between Port d’Andratx and Sant Elm are popular with walkers. The following route is not signposted or waymarked, but it has long been considered the first stage of the long-distance GR221 trail. It is an easy linear walk, with the summit of Pintal Vermell offering fine views in the middle, and there are bus services at either end.

Leave the head of the bay at Port d’Andratx by crossing a humped footbridge over a river at s’Aulet. Follow a broad palm-fringed promenade past the Club de Vela boatyard and a marina. Turn right as signposted for Mon Port, up Carretera Aldea Blanca. Turn left at a crossroads along Carrer de Cala d’Egos, again signposted for Mon Port. Keep right when the road forks, as left is for the Mon Port Hotel and a striking windpump.

Pass old olive terraces and avoid a road climbing steeply on the right, rising gently into pine forest instead. Watch for a steep and stony path on the right, often worn to bedrock. (The road could be followed uphill, but it is very convoluted.) The path climbs straight uphill, clipping three bends on the road. Take care at weekends, when mountain bikers tend to hurtle down the path, making the road a safer option. It is possible to switch between the road and the path at all three bends, as well as one more time where the path and road cross each other.

The path finally reaches a track junction on the gap of Coll des Vent, at 163m (535ft). There are a couple of ruined limekilns nearby and views back to Port d’Andratx. Turn left to follow a track away from the gap, keeping right at two junctions that appear soon afterwards. The track runs gradually downhill on a forested slope, reaching another junction around 110m (360ft). Keep right again, but note that a left turn leads down to a rugged little beach at Cala d’Egos.

Follow the track uphill, climbing steeply at times, and keep left at a junction where there is a sitja. When a higher junction is reached below Puig d’en Ric, turn left to climb further, passing back and forth beneath a pylon line. Cross a high crest where there is a view north-east to Mola de s’Esclop; the mountain rising beyond the village of s’Arracó.

Follow the track towards a prominent red and white mast, but pass below it, rather than climbing to it. Watch carefully for a series of vague paths on the right, mostly marked with little cairns. All of these lead up to a rocky crest touching 300m. However, stay on the track for the time being, descending gently then climbing steeply a short way. It ends just below a trig point on Pintal Vermell, at 312m (1024ft). There are splendid views to the island of sa Dragonera, Sant Elm and the mountains beyond.

Double back along the track and turn left up one of the cairned paths to cross the rocky crest. Scout around to find a splendid mountain path which cuts across the natural breach of Pas Vermell, easily avoiding fearsome overhanging cliffs. The path then drops through a well-worn groove, passing pines and càrritx to reach a track. Turning right offers a shortcut to the village of s’Arracó to catch a bus.

Pas Vermell offers an easy route past a sheer cliff face

Turn left and follow the bendy track down into a forest. Stay on the main track, passing a junction on a pronounced hairpin bend. When another junction is reached, spot ‘S Elm’ painted on a rock, indicating a right turn.

After a steeper descent among taller pines there are three opportunities to turn right in close succession. Take the last of these, which should be marked by a small cairn and paint marks. Quickly turn left and a cable should be stretched across the track to exclude vehicles. Rise gently along the track to reach a little house called sa Pineta.

Continue down past small fields, and the track is later patched with concrete, with fine views of sa Dragonera and Sant Elm. Pass a chain, continue down to a junction and turn right along a forest track. Emerge into a field and turn left along a path, then go through a gap in a wall, briefly back into forest. Cross a road at the gateway to Castell de Sant Elm, also known as the Torre de Sant Elm.

Originally operating as a quarantine hospital from 1342 until 1597, the building then became a watchtower. It was bought by Archduke Lluis Salvador in 1868. It was renovated in 1995 by the Fundació Illes Balears and now serves as a secluded luxury hotel.

Continue along a track and turn left down a flight of concrete steps. Turn right along a road, passing the Hotel Aquamarin to reach a road junction and bus stop beside a sandy beach at Sant Elm.