Hiking Route 7

Llucmajor Coast

Cala Pi – Cap Blanc – Cala Pi

Duration 4h 10.9 km, Easy

Another excelent walking tour on the coast of Llucmajor that in turn allow us to enjoy the flora and fauna of the place. Seagulls, cormorants, thrushes, lizard, maybe herons and other migratory birds, the kingfisher… all can be slighted in the area. As well as many varieties of plants such as rosemary, wild thyme, wild olives, heather, globularia, and sone other tamarind.

The tour begins by going down a long staircase that leads to the beach of Cala Pi. We must cross the beach (after a storm we may have to cross over woods, beacuse this narrow cave is also susceptible to losing part of its beaches when there is bad sea) and we will pass in front of the fishermen’s houses until the last house, where we will turn right to go up to his roof. Here we will find some simple step that ascend the cliff.

Once up, it is advisable to leave the place marked, since this point is often difficult to recognize when returning. We will continue to the left to follow the path that borders the cliff.

Our path soon descends and ascends a small ravine before crossing and old stone wall. Passed the wall, it is a good time to turn and look back to see the beauty of Cala Pi, even though its original charm has been partly depleted in recent years by the construction. We will continue, among perfumed bushes, and as we go forward, unbeatable views will be opened on the defense tower of Cala Pi, located near the sea on the other side of the cove.

Beacuse Cala Pi is narrow and located between cliffs, which made the landing difficult and difficult, this was the last tower to be built on the coast of Llucmajor. The construction works of the current tower were completedin 1663 and Joan Pons was the master builder. The tower is located at 19.5 meters above sea level, and rises on a trunk-conical base of 9.95 meters. The upper part has a diameter of 8 meters on its terrace. The height is 10.20 meter. It is built with stones bound with mortar and access to the portal with a rope ladder. The portal is of half a point mad with sandston, rare in the construction of defense towers. Today it is devoid of the machicolation of the portal and the porch of the terrace. Towards the year 1970, the tower was restored by its owner based on the project of the architect Antoni Alomar. We will continue to the left and to the 20 min just before a group of pine, to find a wide path that it borders Cala Beltran. Several paths interwine around this beautiful cove, whose crystal clear waters invite us to cool off with a swim-not so when the sea is rough, when it is absolutely not recommended to swim in this cove, as the force of the waves between the narrow walls rocky is tremendous. Surrounding the cove along the way we will reach the other side, at Punta Capacorp (30 min) with magnificent views over the coast.

We will continue now over the cliffs, caressed by the sea breeze, and watching as the cormorant dive in search of fish. Meanwhile, the Island of Cabrera on our left seems like a magical place floating on a sea of intense blue. The route, now without marked road, continues between the rocks and the occasional salty puddle. It is about walking on the different rocky levels, where we will see incredible rock formations with different tonalities sculpted by the sea and the wind. When you reach the point where two solitary tamarinds shade a few puddles of water, it is time to go up to another level in order to continue. Soon it will appear the path the surrounds Cala Carril, and that continues on the high cliffs. Then we will cross another stone wall. We will soon reach the enclosure that encloses the area of Cap Blanc, once a military zone, where we will toward the tower which we will reach in a few minutes.

The Cap Blanc Defense Tower (Cabo Blanco) is in an unbeatable strategic location as it dominates the entire south coast of the island as well as the Cabrera archipelago. It was built by Antoni Genovard, stonemason of Sineu, in 1579. like all towers of this type, its base rises without foundations on a thick and massive conical base, from it upwards it has cylindrical shape. It is 10 meter high and 4.3 meters wide at its highest part.

The portal was accessed by a rope ladder, now made of iron. Inside there was a closet and a fireplace. The terrace of the tower was circular, and in earlier times was covered by a porch. It was restored about 50 years ago. A few meters ahead we will see the Cap Blanc Lighthouse (restricted area) on top of the cliff the name of lighthouse has its orgin in the Egyptian island of “Pharo” in the Mediterranean, near Alexandria. The Egyptians built a great tower with fire in its highest part, which guided the ship to reach the port of Alexandria, since it was visible from a great distance. Nowdays these towers located near the sea and whose purpose is the same (to help and guide the navigators) are called lighthouses. The lighthouses of Majorca, with the exception of the lighthouse of Porto Pi, were built during the reign of Isabel II, that is to say during the second half of the 19th century. This was due to the great interest of his government for maritime navigation and the existence of technical means that led to it effectiveness. The mechanisms of the rotating apparatus were already known for more than a century, but the same did not happen with the optical system. The fuel was oil and the light source was required to be quite intense. It was thanks to Agustin Freshnel (1788-1827), French physicist, who achieved a system through lenses and mirrors, which emitted an intensive and constant light. The machineries of the Majorcan lighthouses were commissioned to French opticians.

The Cap Blanc lighthouse was built in 1863, has a range of 15 nautical miles (28km) and is 12 meters high. From the defense tower, we will return to Cala Pi by the same path, enjoying the different views in the return, among which the enormous cave called ‘Cova dels Ossos’ (cova de los Buesos), and many other smaller- but, be careful when approaching the edge of these steep escarpments! We will back in Cala Pi after 4h of excursion.

NOTE: The area in which we find ourselves was known as one of the most active in Mallorca in the pratice os smuggling. The origin of the material was the ports of Marseille, Genoa and the Maghreb coast. Tobacco was the contraband item par excellence. The contraband had a very solid structure from the nobility, who financed it, going though the patterns that transported the goods, reaching the peasants who hid it in hiding places and distributed it. the smugglers were covered up by the population, and this practice provided them with well-paid work and products at a good price. Untill 1939, the carabinieri corps was in charge of chasing the smugglers, and bribery was frequent for the merchandise to be landed and distributed. In subsequent years, the smuggling of food such as sugar, flour, coffee and other foor necessary for the post-war populated increased.