Tramuntana Mountains, Mallorca

  The Tramuntana Mountains, Mallorca.

On 14 June, John Lynagh led a group of 16 walkers on a week long hike through the high trails of the Tramuntana mountains in Mallorca. The first two nights were spent in Port d'Alcudia on the north eastern side of the island. The group was bussed to the start of the hikes each morning.
The first day's hike was curtailed due to rockfalls on the trail but this did not dampen the spirits too much as the beach and hotel facilities made up for the inconvenience.
The next day's hike took us to Lluc Monastery, a medieval monastery nestled in the heart of the Tramuntana mountains where we spent two nights. The monastery has been converted into a very comfortable hotel with leisure facilities. (Worth a look on google to see the history of the place).
The hikes then took the group to the busy town of Soller where we took the ancient open sided tram to our accommodation in Port de Soller spending two nights there.
The final hike was a circular route in the hills above Port de Soller. Our final night was spent in hotels near the airport in Palma.
The hiking was done primarily on the GR 221, a long distance trail that traverses the Tramuntana mountains in northern Mallorca. Hikes averaged 15 to 16 kilometres each day and were totally remote for the most part but fairly well marked making navigation pretty straightforward. As we moved further west we encountered orange and lemon groves and countless olive groves. Temperatures were in the high 20s and up to 30 degrees at times so a bit warmer than ideal for hiking.
All in all a very successful and enjoyable trip with stunning scenery and great accommodation throughout.
This holiday would suit anyone with a fairly good level of fitness and would probably be in the B walk category, sturdy hiking boots essential as ground is rocky throughout.

Sierra Nevadas, Southern Spain, May 2024.

SIERRA NEVADA WALKING TRIP MAY 2024

Early on Tuesday morning, the 7th May, 26 members of the club set out for Dublin airport en-route to Lanjarón in the Sierra Nevada, on a seven-day walking holiday. Lanjarón is a famous spa town located at 650m in the Lecrin Valley on the southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada in Andalusia, south east Spain. The group stayed at the Hotel Alcadima with a brilliant pool, super facilities, helpful and friendly staff, wonderful cuisine and perfectly located to enjoy a broad range of local walks.
The five arranged walks accommodated the range of ability within the group. The routes included local loop walks around Lanjarón, a high altitude, 2,500m – 2,650m, ramble on the northern slopes of the Sierra Nevada, and some challenging linear walks between local Alpujarra villages to the east of Lanjarón.
The local loop walks followed dirt paths with some sections paved with railings that wrap around the cliffs and run along the rushing irrigation water channels. The walks passed old farms, fruit and olive orchards, chapel and heritage buildings, old wheat thrashing platforms, and amazing local flowering fauna opening out to reveal spectacular views.
The high altitude walk followed the snow-covered slopes of the Sierra Nevada in the National Park, with melting snow streams, waterfalls, herds of feral goats, birds of prey and amazing natural local flora and vegetation.

The linear walks between the local Alpujarra villages included some challenging climbs, rocky descents along tracks, paths, and roadways. The villages reveal a unique type of architecture in the buildings, adapted to the structure of the irregular land and to the climate of the area, which are arranged in narrow streets where the memory lingers in its Moorish past. The surrounding landscape included lush forest along the edge of the mountain with fast running rivers below. The surrounding managed terraced landscape with spring flowering flora afforded spectacular photogenic and panoramic views.
The trip was completed with a day-visit to Granada with a guided tour of the monumental Palaces and Gardens of the Alhambra, a spectacular UNESCO World Heritage site.

 

SEMRA DONATION April 2024

We were delighted to make a donation to SEMRA, the South East Mountain Rescue Association on Sunday 28^th April. The cheque was presented by Eileen Ryan to Liz, Georgina and Marie from SEMRA prior to the club walks. The assembled walkers were given a tour of a SEMRA vehicle which is equipped for any eventually on the hills. The training achieved and commitment of the SEMRA volunteers deserves support and the club acknowledges the vital work they do.