Council of Majorca produces new hiking guide

The itineraries chosen can be walked in a single day and are adapted to different types of walker, including families and schoolchildren. The first route involves the collaboration of the municipalities of Alaro, Deya and Selva, for which the Council has flagged up walking routes for the castle in Alaro, Cala Deya and s'Esquena de s'Ermita in Selva (Caimari). As part of these routes are the points of cultural and creative interest which provide a network of artisan craft workers, artists, associations and others who can offer creative activities linked to the heritage of the individual municipalities.

Of the seventeen points, there are nine in Alaro, seven in Selva and one in Deya. Prices of various activities are decided by those offering them, except where they are provided by town halls and are, therefore, free of charge.

In Selva, for instance, there will be opportunities to see demonstrations of Majorcan folk dance by the group Aires de Muntanya or to accompany the chef from Restaurante Miceli to the market when buying produce for a sampling menu later on. In Alaro there is a designer from whom patterns can be ordered, while in Deya there will be an invitation to participate in the Cultural Festival.

One hundred copies of the guide will be in a draw lasting until 2 February on the Facebook page for the dry-stone route ("pedra en sec"). In addition to the guide, educational materials are to be distributed to infant schools. These include a game about the Tramuntana mountains and a comic book.

The "Rando pour la Culture" project will run for two years and has a budget of over 130,000 euros from the European Commission. Further stages will be added to the three initial routes, and work has already begun on the second one that will involve Fornalutx, Pollensa and Soller.

The aim of the Council is to promote tourism with sustainable and respectful experiences that can tackle the effects of seasonality.