Es Capdellà - Estellencs GR 221 variant 2

GR 221 variant 2 hiking trail along the Dry Stone Rout (Ruta de Pedra en Sec) close to the imposing Puig de Galatzó mountain (1027 m above the sea), with its cone shaped silhouette standing out above the surrounding countryside. Starting from the TIB bus stop in Es Capdellà, the route along the Sierra de Tramuntana offers a wide range of landscapes where agricultural land, steep peaks and leafy oaks alternate, as well as ethnological heritage, with many constructions linked to agricultural activities and the exploitation of the forest, especially in the Galatzó area. From Refugi Coma d’en Vidal the track joins the main GR 221. The beautiful route continue down a forest track onto the old road from Andratx to Estellencs and ends at the TIB bus stop to Palma.

Es Capdella village existed back in the 17th century, its origins having their roots in the settlement of the cottages that the labourers on the great estates in the area built. Far from the main roads, it has little more than a thousand inhabitants and comprises a small built-up centre, widely dispersed houses, and a church dating from the 18th century.

The Galatzó estate was acquired by Calvià Council in 2006. Its 1,401 hectares makes it one of the largest estates on the island (it comprises about 10% of the total surface area of the municipality). References to it in the records go back to 1283, when there was an old Moorish farmstead in the Galatzó valley. The history of the estate is inextricably linked with the legend of el Comte Mal, the Count of Evil, as incarnated by Ramon Burgues-Zaforteza Pacs-Fuster de Villalonaga i Nét (1627-1694), the second Count of Santa Maria de Formiguera and lord of the Alqueria de Galatzó farmstead, amongst other properties, who was called thus as the result of the abuses and legal disputes to which the inhabitants of his estates were subjected, all of which literature has taken care of transforming and exaggerating.

Houses of Galatzó: The estate buildings include an olive press which received water from the Sa Cometa spring, a wine cellar, a chapel, a Romantic style garden, and a number of outhouses such as barns, a pigsty and cattle shed. From the path it is possible to see two water mills for grinding grain into flour, which existed as long ago as 1501, powered by the water from the Font des Ratxo spring located 1.5 km away inside the municipal limits of Puigpunyent. The waters of this spring also irrigate the market gardens of Es Molins, formed by straight, painstakingly built walls.

Charcoal burning siter: During the climb up to the Serra des Pinotells mountain range, two dry stone charcoal kilns can be seen next to the path.

Coma d’en Vidal: Estate of 56.5 hectares, acquired by the public administration in 2002. It is currently managed by the Council of Mallorca.

The Old Road from Andratx to Estellencs: Plans for the construction by the state of a road from Andratx to Estellencs date back to 1885, a time when the route then in existence was a difficult footpath making communications between the two villages rather complicated. This cart track was opened in 1913 two years after work started, but was superseded in the 1950s by the building of the new road.

Estellencs is located on the south-western coast of the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range, surrounded by steep slopes of great winegrowing tradition, flanked by terraces suspended above the sea. Narrow cobbled streets and country cottages comprise a small built up area, inhabited by about 370 people.