Visitor infringements in the Tramuntana Mountains shoot up

There are times when visitor numbers in the mountains are especially high. | Archive

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma06/03/2022 15:04

In 2021, twenty-nine proceedings were opened for infringements of the plans for the management of natural resources in the Tramuntana Mountains and in the Albufera Nature Park; most were in the Tramuntana. There were two in all in 2019 and four in 2020.

Agents from the regional environment ministry took action against hikers and businesses for breaches that included entering exclusion zones, an example of which is in the area of the Castell del Rei on the Ternelles finca in Pollensa.

The increase in 2021 is partly attributed to the period when there were tight Covid restrictions on the likes of shopping centres and cinemas. There was a notable rise in the number of people who visited the Tramuntana, especially at weekends. When there was significant snowfall, parts of the mountains became gridlocked, such was the number of cars.

There were also cases of the "botellón", groups of people who went into the mountains for drinking parties in the summer. Formentor was a particular attraction.

The Tramuntana Mountains were declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2011. To this day, there are no precise data regarding the number of people who go into the mountains, but there has clearly been an increase, which is why mayors of certain municipalities in the Tramuntana have been demanding better control.

The only protocol to have been agreed with the Balearic government is one for when there is snowfall likely to attract high numbers of people. Otherwise, there are no specific controls, except if individual town halls resort to them. In Alaró, for instance, the town hall has hired private security to control access to the castle.