Mallorca's Hidden Gems: A Guide to the Island's Secluded Spots

Our journey begins in the Serra de Tramuntana, undoubtedly Mallorca's wildest and least explored area. Less than a kilometre away from Banyalbufar, a picturesque village that served as the backdrop for a popular TV commercial, lies our first hidden gem. To reach it, you'll need to navigate a sharp right turn followed by a steep descent towards the sea. Halfway down the hill, you can park your car in the small public car park and continue your descent on foot till you reach Cala Banyalbufar. This fine stone bay is protected by a cliff, and fresh water flows down over some of its rocks, providing an improvised, and extremely refreshing, natural shower. The people that make it down here are on the lookout for peace and quiet, there are no boats around and the stunning beauty of the surroundings makes a swim here a real pleasure.

Further along the Tramuntana road towards Sóller is Port des Canonge, a secluded enclave accessible only after navigating six kilometres of tight 180-degree bends. This small stone beach, set against a backdrop of escars - old stone huts the locals used to use to store their boats in, now protected - and characteristic fishing boats, is ideal for a refreshing dip in the sea.

In the heart of the sierra, just after the picturesque village of Deià in the direction of Sóller, there is a third spot which is rarely visited, hidden amongst the trees and the natural vegetation of the Tramuntana. Llucalcari is a small village made up of some twenty or thirty houses. From here you can access another secluded rocky bay, Es Canyaret, which boasts crystal clear waters and a ravine with a fresh waterfall which descends from the mountain.

Changing direction, in the northeast of Mallorca we come across Colònia de Sant Pere (in the municipality of Artà), a village where many Mallorcans own a second home and with a minimum amount of tourism, and then Betlem, where only one small housing development disturbs the natural environment. It is easy to park in Betlem and then head for its neighbouring bays on foot. The coast is made up of little stone bays, with the odd escar which has somehow managed to survive years of neglect and the constant battering it receives from the waves during the winter months.

Finally, our route along hidden corners of the island brings us to the Migjorn area (in the south of the island), and more specifically to Santanyí, one of the most spectacular parts of the Mallorcan coastline. The white sands and turquoise sea make this area a dream come true for beach lovers. Surrounded by typical pine forests and very near to Cala Llombards, the largest and busiest beach in the area, is Es Caló des Moro, a tiny bay hidden between the trees and rocks.