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Web oficial de la Asociación Hotelera de Sóller, Mallorca
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Soller & Surroundings


A PLACE THAT IS WORLD HERITAGE

Sóller is a beautiful town on the North East coast of Mallorca. It is 3km inland of its port, Puerto de Sóller, surrounded by mountains, in a fertile valley which it shares with the village of Fornalutx and the hamlet of Biniaraix.

Sóller valley and port are about half an hour from Palma de Mallorca airport and have their own railway, tram and motorcoach services. The valley and the surrounding mountains, “the Tramuntana Sierra” are the favourite resort of people from all over the world, especially those who enjoy nature walks, culture, water sports and good food, or who simply seek a peaceful place away from the noisy tourism of possibly better known venues.

Sóller

With its 13,000 inhabitants, Sóller is the commercial and cultural centre of the Tramuntana Sierra and the starting point of many itineraries following mountain and coastal paths and about the “valley of oranges”. The town square, with its imposing church, trees, open air cafés and mountain backdrop, is one of the most beautiful in the island. Surrounded by narrow streets with many shops, it is the popular meeting place for residents and tourists alike, especially on market days. From here one can take the antique Tram to Puerto Sóller to bathe or take a boat trip to the Torrente de Pareis.

Port of Sóller

Over the years, the port of Sóller has become one of the fashionable holiday resorts of the island. The almost circular bay, with two beautiful beaches, an attractive shopping area, the pedestrian sea front and many excursion routes, offers a unique experience to the visitor.

The beautiful setting is best appreciated from the lighthouse or the Mirador de Sta. Catalina, high on the coast. At sunset there are no more romantic spots. From either viewpoint one has a splendid view of the port and the pleasure boats which sail several times a day to the Torrente de Pareis.

It is easy to see how access to the valley was difficult in days gone by and how sea trade with France was important for the survival of the town.
The antique Tram links the port to the town of Sóller, a few Km inland, so that visitors may combine sun and sand with culture, shopping, a visit to the weekly market, a trip to Palma on the train, or simply enjoy the peace of this unique setting.

Biniaraix & Fornalutx

Biniaraix is ​​a small town, located 2 km from Sóller, with its square and the church of the “Immaculate Conception”, built in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. At the end of Sant Josep street, from the square, there are the washings that the women of the town used at that time to wash their clothes. From there, the path called “Barranco de Biniaraix” begins, probably from the Middle Ages, which meanders among the stone stairs of the terraced fields populated by millenary olive trees from where a stream flows. This is one of the ways to go from Soller to Lluc on foot.

Fornalutx is located in the center of the Sierra de Tramuntana, which crosses the island of Mallorca and draws a deep valley that goes from Puig Mayor to Sóller.

The origin of Fornalutx has its beginning at the same moment of the Conquest, being in ancient times a Moorish village, a fact that can be deduced by the layout of its primitive streets. Together with the neighboring city of Sóller, the two formed a single municipality until 1813 and in 1837 their constitutional rights were recognized as an independent municipality. Fornalutx is considered one of the most beautiful villages in Spain.

Llucalcari

Llucalcari, also known as Es Carrer, is a small hamlet some 3km from Deyà towards Sóller. Built on the steep side of a mountain facing the sea it consists of some twenty houses and is one of the most idyllic scenes in Mallorca. It has a small, simple chapel dating from 1600.
Some of the larger houses have defence towers. Descending to the sea by a stone stairway between pine trees we reach a small cove called ‘es Canyaret’, with a fresh water spring where some people take mud baths, believing there to be theraputic properties.

Deià

Deia is a small village located in the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range, and boasts surroundings of unparalleled natural beauty which offer visitors a wide range of recreational opportunities. Visitors can enjoy strolling through its streets, and admire the traditional stone-built houses typical of Mallorcan architecture, hike one of the many mountain trails (the Ruta de pedra en sec long-distance GR-221 footpath, or Dry Stone Route), and explore the area by bike. The village’s quiet charm has long attracted a multitude of romantics, bohemians and artists, from the Archduke Luis Salvador of Austria, the composer Manuel de Falla, the painters Leman, Junyer and Russinyol, the poets Robert Graves and Laura Riding, and archaeologists such as William Waldren, who all settled here after having found the inspiration they were looking for.

Alaró

It has its origin in the Muslim farmhouse of Oloron. The documented history begins in the thirteenth century, from the conquest of Mallorca, and revolves around its castle. During the Catalan occupation of the Kingdom of Mallorca, they resisted at the Castillo de Alaró.

The scenic charm of Alaró invites to hiking. They emphasize by their tradition, the excursions of the Castle of Alaró, to which it is possible to be acceded on foot from the same town, and to Orient (that belongs to Bunyola).

Alaró was the first municipality to have electricity. The power station was inaugurated on August 15, 1901 and the promoters were the brothers Gaspar and Josep Perelló Pol. Of the electrical factory that constitutes the only civil monument of Alaró, there were some vestiges. A monument has now been restored and the inauguration was on August 15, 2001.

Puigpunyent

Puigpunyent is a small village in the south-western area of the Serra de Tramuntana on the island of Mallorca. It currently has around 2,000 inhabitants divided between three population centers: Puigpunyent, Galilea and Son Serralta.

As a mountain municipality, it offers some of the most impressive landscapes that can be found in Mallorca. Vineyard, orange, olive and almond trees cover the valleys of the municipality. You can also see an important set of terraces full of millenary olive trees. Mountains and valleys are connected by a considerable number of old public roads that constitute an important patrimonial and ethnological value; they are bridleways, some of which still retain their original cobblestones.