Book a guided visit to the Ternelles estate

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Instructions for Authorization Requests

The first step is to fill out the reservation request on this website with the date and number of visitors. The maximum number of visitors per day is 15. The minimum age to participate in the guided tour is 16 years; registration of minors can be done if they are accompanied by an adult. A minimum of 4 people will be required to proceed with the visit.

punto de encuentro

In the following link you can find the exact GPS location of the meeting point (Ternelles barrier): How to get?

In case you CANNOT ATTEND THE VISIT we kindly ask you to CANCEL THE RESERVATION 

It is not allowed to enter with any kind of vehicle, the tour can only be done on foot.

You can find a parking near the Roman Bridge, right before the beginning of Ternelles road. It is 1.8 km (about a 20- 25 minutes walk) from the parking to the starting point of the tour.

In the following link you can find the exact GPS location of the Roman Bridge car park: How to get there? 

Another option is to park on the Ternelles road itself, in a small parking lot. This parking lot is located about 8-10 minutes from the starting point of the excursion. Please note that the number of places in this car park is very limited and parking along the road is not possible, as it is very narrow.

ANIMALS OF ANY KIND ARE NOT ALLOWED, since there is free wildlife inside the farm.

If you have any question, or you need more information, you can call the tour guide, Andrea Landeira, at the phone number 683 327 512 or at the e-mail visitaguiadaternelles@procustodia.org.

CALLS will be attended only from 08:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. from Wednesday to Sunday. You can always leave a text message or WhatsApp message on the previously mentioned number.

Arrival from Palma de Mallorca

  1. You have to take the Ma-13 Highway Palma-Alcúdia direction.

  2. Take the exit 40 (Sa Pobla; Crestatx; Pollença; Muro)

  3. At the roundabout, take the third exit "Pollença; Crestatx".

  4. Then follow the Pollença Road (Ma-2200) POLLENÇA DIRECTION for about 10km.

  5. At the Pollença roundabout, where you will see a big iron rooster sculpture, take the third exit "Port de Pollença; Deixalleria" through the Ma-2200 road.

  6. Continue straight ahead through the Pollença Road (Ma-2200) direction to PORT DE POLLENÇA until the next roundabout.

  7. In this roundabout, where you will see two shops called "Teixits Vicens" and "La Braseria", take the second exit direction "Sóller; Lluc" through the Ma-10 road. However, place yourself in the right lane immediately, thus it will allow us to continue straight ahead.

  8. If you keep going through the Ma-10 road, at less than 1 km away, the Camí de Ternelles will be on your right side; while the Roman Bridge and the mentioned parking lot will be on your left side.

Recent history

The Ternelles estate was owned in 1511 by Francesc Desbrull. In 1662 the property was shared with Font de Roqueta (a knight of to the Calatrava order). In 1771 passed into the hands of Isabel Sureda Fortuny and some of the buildings that there are today were already there, such as the water wheel. In 1863 it belonged to the heirs of Marià Vilallonga with a total of 1526 acres. Finally, in 1968, it passed into the hands of March's family (1).

At present, the pine tree that will be used for the festivity of the "Pi de Sant Antoni" in Pollensa is taken from the Ternelles estate. 

The Ternelles excursion

Accumulated slope (Source: wikiloc.com)

This is a low-difficulty excursion along a route of about 12 km, most of which runs along a dirt track through a beautiful and well-preserved natural landscape.

The first 6 km lead to the Cala Castell viewpoint, where we make a stop before returning along the same path for another 6 km.

Given that this is a sensitive area, with black vulture nesting exclusion zones, the excursion is guided by a guide from the FVSM (Fundación Vida Silvestre Mediterránea) who, as well as accompanying the hikers, informs them of the different cultural and biological elements. The visitors will be provided with binoculars for birdwatching. 

Some of the elements of interest are described below:

  1. At the beginning of the excursion, we will see an old irrigation ditch belonging to Roman Empire times. This irrigation ditch has been used to channel water from the mountains of Ternelles to the ancient Roman city of Pollentia (Alcudia). 

  2. A little later, we will be able see a flour mill. This mill used the force of a waterfall to move large wood shovels in order to grind the grain.

  3. Continuing the way, we will see a closed parcel where a “sinia” is located.  This is the name of a device powered by an animal to extract water from shallow wells.

  4. We will find a restricted area access. This detour leads to Coll dels Coloms, which is one of the areas where vultures nest. This is why it is an area of exclusion due to biological reasons. In the same area there is an old hermitage known as "La Cel·la".

  5. At the right side of the path, inside a holm oaks’ forest, we will see circular stone constructions known as lime ovens. In the past, in the mountains of Mallorca, it was common to make a living as a calciner.

    The calciners used calcareous rocks (typical in the composition of Majorcan soil) to build circular ovens, in which the limestones were heated to a temperature sufficient to generate lime.

  6. Once the lime ovens are left behind, we enter a pine forest. The pine tree ecosystem has been gaining ground to the oak-type ecosystem over time, which was the most characteristic of the Mediterranean region. Is for that reason that the local administration has allowed a land management that consists in the removal of pine for the recovery of the cultivation of olive trees.

  7. Once we enter the Ternelles Valley, we can see the Castell del Rei, located on a promontory, at an altitude of 492 m. This castle is one of the three rock castles of Mallorca.  

    In Roman times it was used as a control fortification, and during the Muslim period it served, together with the Castle of Alaró, as the last stronghold of resistance to the troops of Jaume I. In 1343, those loyal to the King of Mallorca, James III, resisted a three-month siege when he had already lost his kingdom and it had been annexed by the Crown of Aragon under Peter the Ceremonious. 

    Access to the castle is restricted, as it is another nesting area for black vultures. There are around 45 breeding pairs on the island of Mallorca, approximately half of which are on the Ternelles estate, which is the largest colony of black vultures on the island. 

  8. On the right side we will see the mountains known as Puig de Can Groc and Cornavaques; behind us, we will be able to see Puig de Tomir, with its colossal neighbour Massanella next to it. 

  9. At the viewpoint of Cala Castell it is very common to spot vultures gliding at high altitudes near the rocky peak. In addition to the black vulture (Aegypius monachus) and the griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus) other bird species of interest can be observed, such as the Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), the Eleonora's falcon (Falco eleonorae), the common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), the booted eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus), the western osprey (Pandion haliaetus), the Bonelli's eagle (Aquila fasciata) or the Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus).

The access to the beach is TOTALLY FORBIDDEN by biological restrictions due to the Natural Resources Management Plan.

At the end of the visit, the hikers will be able to buy, if they wish, some articles of the Fundación Vida Silvestre Mediterránea (T-shirts, bags, buffs ...), as well as to deposit a donation in a money box to help the Foundation. All the money collected will be used to finance the projects and actions that the foundation carries out for the conservation of nature.

Topographic map (Source: Instituto Geográfico Nacional)

1 Gran Enciclopèdia de Mallorca v. 17 Promomallorca: Palma, 1991, p. 157-158

Fundación Vida Silvestre Mediterranea
Finca Son Pons
07310 Campanet. Mallorca. España
Tel.: + 34 971 575 880