Rural Mallorca is well known for good walking but only relatively recently has the island's administration sought to create a long distance route – the GR221 -along the entire length of the Serra de Tramuntana which runs parallel to the north-west coast. It sounds an attractive prospect with generally good weather, some spectacular limestone mountains rising to over 1300m, and interesting places to pass through.

At the time of writing the guide – about 1 year ago – access had been agreed for most of the 140km route and it had been waymarked. Only the south-west end remained to be finalised, and a website address is given for checking the latest position. However, despite its incompleteness the route has been trekked for a number of years.

The guide sets out to provide “all the details you need to follow the GR221” which I think is a fair claim. The first part of the guide contains sections on getting to Mallorca and transport within the island, history, local agriculture and industry, flora and fauna, accommodation, kit required, maps and mountain rescue. It is recommended to do the route in Spring or Autumn in order to avoid

excessive heat and winter snow. The terrain is mixed, with paths and old mule tracks and also sections over bedrock. On several days there are short sections of road walking.

The main route is described in 70 pages, illustrated by colour strip-maps to Cicerone's usual high standard. The suggested itinerary covers the route in 9 days with daily stints of 9-25km, 260-1000m ascent, and 3½-7 hours of walking, but there are other places to stay along the way so it would not be difficult to devise a longer or shorter traverse. In addition 40 pages are allocated to route descriptions of variants, plus one could pause along the way to ascend some scrambling peaks described in the companion Cicerone guide “Walking in Mallorca”. Accommodation is in hotels and mountain refuges. Several more of the latter were under construction in 2009 and will, when completed, afford additional options. People do camp but it is strictly illegal and there is only one official campsite along the route.

So, if you are looking for a medium-length trek in a sunny clime, travelling light and using fixed accommodation overnight, this could make an excellent holiday.

John Dixie