5 lesser-known hidden gem routes

A couple of months ago, I shared my Top 5 Routes in Mallorca on YouTube - a video that’s been really popular, but admittedly stuck to the classic, well-trodden paths of Mallorcan cycling.

This time, I’ve swapped the greatest hits for some hidden gems, with five routes that might not be as well-known, but are every bit as stunning.

Videos and GPX files linked throughout this article.

Descending Sa Batalla.

Monasteries

First up - and yes, I know starting a list of five with a whole set of routes bends the rules a bit, but this is my list and I make the rules—so, let me introduce you to the Monasteries Ride Collection. Think of it as a build-your-own-adventure, spiritual-summit-safari, linking Mallorca’s monasteries like beads on a rosary. Apologies for the florid prose, but again, I make the rules here. Since we're just getting started, let’s kick things off with one monastery and build up from there.

About 30km east of Palma lies the town of Randa, home to the Cura Monastery, perched high atop Puig de Randa. This mountain, much like others on the island standing apart from the main range, rises sharply from the surrounding flatlands. The monastery has been around in some form since the 14th century and remains a pilgrimage site to this day—though these days, it’s more Lycra than liturgy, more saddle sores than sanctity.

The Randa-only version of the route avoids the Tramuntana entirely, heading south from Pollença along the flatter lanes that crisscross Mallorca’s rural interior. You’ll pass through pockets of countryside still rich with charm and largely untouched by the greasy mitts of mass tourism.

You’ll reach the base of the climb after about 60km, followed by a 5km ascent with 250 metres of elevation at an average gradient of 5.5%. At the top, you’ll pass the otherworldly weather station before being rewarded with panoramic views across the island—on a clear day, even as far as Ibiza. If you’re into history, the monastery’s worth a wander. If you’re into cake, the café is top notch.

Once you’ve said your prayers it’s time to turn around. The descent has a few technical switchbacks as well as some faster sections too and is overall pretty fun. Generally, as with all of the climbs outside the Tramuntana, traffic isn’t too much of an issue either. The return leg of this route is fairly similar to the outward one, just as peaceful but with the added benefit of being largely downhill—so you’ll be flying.

If you’re looking to boost your spiritual credentials further still, you can start stacking monasteries until your sins are forgiven. The simplest (and arguably best) addition is Sant Salvador, 30km east of Cura. It’s one of the most underrated climbs on the island, steeper than most at a relatively whopping 7%, so well worth the detour—just know, and apologies for mixing my measurements, you’ll be pushing the ride toward 100 miles.

Port to Port - Port de Pollença to Palma/Andratx

For those wanting to cross the island without tackling the relentless ups and downs of the MA10, this alternative route from Port de Pollenca to Palma is a great shout.

I stumbled upon it when I was searching for a slightly less gruelling ride back to Palma during Day 3 of my bikepacking adventure with the Cycling GK, Ben Foster (video below). It surpassed all expectations, guiding me along lesser-known backroads that hug the Tramuntana range, without ever getting too…climby.

The initial 30km to Caimari is the familiar pastoral postcard—vineyards and dry-stone walls roll by under the watchful gaze of distant peaks, with pigs, sheep, and donkeys quietly minding their business as you pass.. Instead of heading up the Coll de Sa Batalla, you’ll continue south through Selva, Lloseta, and on to Alaro, where you’ll make the mandatory pit stop at Cycling Planet for coffee and cake.

Before you get your caffeine fix, though, you’ll face the only real climb on the route: the Coll de Tofla. It’s not a monster—just under 2km long—but don’t let the short length fool you; with an average gradient over 6% and ramps nearing 13%, this quiet, traffic free climb certainly packs a punch.

Once you’ve conquered Tofla and waved goodbye to Alaro, it’s more rolling terrain through olive groves, and sleepy villages with the looming peaks of Puig D’Alaro and the Puig De S’alcadena an impressive backdrop. Eventually, you’ll reach Santa Maria del Cami, where you’ll begin the final stretch towards Palma.

The roads do get busier here, but you’ll still have a decent hard shoulder so no need to stress. And thanks to the slight downhill gradient, you’ll cover this 20 kilometre stretch at a fearsome gallop. When you hit Palma, the city streets are busy, but with bike lanes continuing throughout, it's still pretty tame for city riding.

If you want a bit more of a challenge? You could reverse the route, riddle back, or if you're after more climbing, add the beautiful Orient Valley north of Alaro. This’ll take you over the Coll d’Honor and Coll d’Orient towards Bunyola, adding about 15 extra kilometres and 500 metres of climbing.

Since this is a point to point route you’ll need return transport - the train at Palma can get you as far as Sa Pobla, or you could take the Mallorca Cycle Shuttle to Andratx and start the route there, I’ve included a GPX file of this alternative route - which will add in a couple of extra minor climbs - the peaceful Coll des Tords and Coll d’en Esteve via the charming almond groves around Calvia.

Hardest 100

Next up on this list is, barring an 8 monastery slog, our daftest and most demanding route: the hardest 100. I plotted this ride at the end of last year, attempting to find the hardest 100 mile route on the island, and I’m pretty sure I found it. 

This is another point to point route that will take you from just outside Palma back to Port de Pollenca, you can quite easily do this one from Andratx as well (shout out once again to the Mallorca Cycle Shuttle), but it will add on an extra 10 kilometres

You will start this ride at the base of  the Coll de sa Creu, a pretty tame warm up at 6km and 5.5%, but you’ll appreciate it with what’s ahead. After a short coast downhill towards Puigpunyent you’ll begin the toughest climb of the day, and the trickiest on the whole island: Sobremunt. 

This absolute basketcase of a climb bucks convention, eschewing the usual steady gradients typical of Mallorca, and instead climbs skyward at heinous gradients of 15, 20 and even 25% for stretches that will have, all but the sprightliest mountain goats zigzagging their way up. Or, even walking. 

The gradient isn’t all you have to worry about either, with a road surface resembling something akin to downtown Aleppo, you’ll be swerving potholes and gravel patches right to the very top.

Your next Port of call, is the Port des Canonge. A real hidden gem and, while not nearly as savage as Sobremunt, is still a force to be reckoned with. Other than perhaps the Coll de Soller, the switchbacks of this ascent of Canonge are some of the most impressive on the island. Stacked one on top the other in a fashion that borders on comical.

Your onward journey takes you up the Coll d’en Claret, a comparative walk in the park and the easiest climb of the day. Once you’ve descended down the other side it’s the Port de Valldemossa, another hidden gem to earn you bragging rights as a hillclimb hipster among your route one peers. Often compared to Sa Calobra, and much like Canonge, this climb takes you from the heights of the MA10’s balcony road down to sea level and back up, via a narrow road of steep switchbacks that cling to the rocky cliff face.

The next 20 kilometres is a comparative breeze as you descend first into Deia and then down to Soller for your most prolonged stretch of climbing of the day, taking on the big pig himself: Puig Major. You should all be familiar with this porker, with the 14 kilometres, 850m climb the island’s largest. You’ll probably be feeling pretty knackered by this point so the circa 1 hour steady ascent will be where the mindgames really start to take hold.

Once you’ve finished though, you’ll be well over 3000m climbed, and it’s just the small matter of Sa Calobra left to tackle. It’s unlikely you’ll be setting any PBs today as you make your way back up from this dead ended beauty - just a word of caution to take extra care on the descent, especially since you’ll probably be somewhat compromised mentally and physically at this point.

The final stretch to Port de Pollenca is now largely downhill so you can begin to congratulate yourself on a hard-fought and uniquely impressive day out. If you do take on this ride, please let me know in the comments as I’d love to hear how you got on. For my own effort, check out the hardest 100 video linked in the description below.

La Victoria and Santa Magdelena

Next up we have a wonderfully peaceful and beautiful loop that includes two underrated climbs in the north of the island, never too far from Port de Pollenca but still clocking in at around 85km: the La Victoria and Santa Magdelena loop. First up, you’ll begin your day riding one of the most picturesque bike lanes you’re ever likely to find, rolling out of Port de Pollenca towards Alcudia along the Bay of Pollenca, incredible at sunrise and even better with a tailwind.

For today’s ride we will turn our backs on the wonderful, yet often ruinously busy, Formentor peninsula and head to its sister across the water: La Victoria. While Alcudia’s answer to bayside climbing does lack some of the punch of Formentor, it is still worth a trip and the views are spectacular in their own right. 

After an initial suburban stroll through the hilly Mal Pas de Bonaire you’ll descend towards the disarmingly blue sea, hold your nerve with a quick hop over a cattle grid, where a faster approach will be more comfortable, and then climb up towards the Ermita de la Victoria.

In comparison to many other Mallorcan climbs, this one is pretty tasty with an average gradient of 7% and ramps of around 12. Don’t let this put you off though as, at only 2 kilometres in length, it will be over all too soon. 

The road diverges about half way up, but when I’ve been there have been fairly unambiguous signs of no entry to what I understand is a military area. However, Strava heat maps do seem to show that people do venture down there, so do so at your own risk, and please let me know in the comments if this is a viable trip.

Once at the top, you’ll have the option to check out the church, or turn around. There are also plenty of hiking and mountain bike trails, so something to consider for another day. Take care on the descent, the usual goats, rocks and cars trifecta is always a lurking danger and since the road is quite narrow, it could be easy to get caught out.

Once that is ticked off, you’ll wave goodbye to the sea and head inland. After rolling through the Port of Alcudia you’ll pass briefly through the Albufereta wetlands, around Sa Pobla and then onward through rural backroads towards Santa Magdalena.

You will forgive me for including another 2 monastery route as its own entry, and you’ll be grateful as you do it, remembering to leave a nice comment and subscribing to the channel while you’re at it.

The Santa Magdelena monastery can be found a little way outside Inca and is a climb to watch out for as you make your journey from the airport towards the north of the island, as it’s clearly visible from the motorway, a solitary lump in the flatlands gazing across the road to the bigger boys of the western coast.

The climb is another relatively short and sharp number, slightly longer than La Victoria, at nearly 3 kilometres but ever so slightly shallower at 6.4%. The road is spectacularly peaceful with little traffic, even in the busier months. The road wraps it way around the perimeter of the mountain like a helter skelter, rewarding you with views to every corner of the island, down to Inca, and then finally, the best of them all, out across to the Tramuntana.

Flat Inland Loop

Tom Hassan, despite his size advantage, failing to match the raw power of a sprinting SK.

For our final route of this video we will sack off the climbs entirely, for a 90 kilometre round trip that still packs around 600 metres of elevation. You’re never going to get a compleeetely flat ride after all. 

The ride starts with your classic route out of town and over towards Campanet. You’ve heard me wax lyrical about these rural tracks about 30 times at this point so I’ll not torture you with the same poetic rehash any further.

So. Speeding ahead just a little bit we’ll breeze through Caimari, Selva and Inca on our way over towards the pleasingly named Sineu. When I completed this ride the first time round, our route this way was on quite a busy road, but since I’m such a stand-up guy I’ve replotted this on what I hope should be something a little more sedate.

Once you’ve arrived in Sineu you’ll head to the starting line over at the public velodrome. Unless you’re particularly unlucky, it’s probable you’ll have this cyclist's playground all to yourself. This is definitely a ride you’ll want to do with chums as solo laps don’t hit quite the same way as an impromptu team pursuit. 

You’re free to muck about here as long as you please but once you’ve determined the loser within your group you’ll want to find somewhere for them to treat you to coffee and cake. The attached leisure centre cafe will do the trick, but the much trendier cycling cafe, Sa Mola, would be my pick.

From there you’ll ride fast roads onwards towards Santa Margalida with Mallorca’s other range, the Serra de Llevant silhouetted in blue above bright green fields. You’ll not make it quite that far today and will instead head back towards the coast where you’ll ride alongside the Albufuera Wetlands, through Alcudia, and then back along the bay.

A quick look down at your bike computer and you’ll be impressed to see an average speed far beyond your typical Mallorcan crawl. Because not every ride has to be difficult.

So there we have it. I hope you have found this list useful. There is an absolute boatload of GPX route files linked below, so please don’t message me asking for them! I’ve done the hard work and by now I’m onto bigger and better things. If you do need to tweak the routes, just duplicate them within Strava, move around starting points and bob's your uncle.

Okay. Bye.