GR221 | GET INFORMED
Are you captured by the idea of a trekking on an island, experiencing the wild breeze of both mountains and sea, while also taking your time to visit charming little towns?
If your answer is a YES, the GR221 is the adventure you are looking for. Pick up pen and paper and start realizing this dream of yours!
At first, it can be difficult to gather all the information to plan a long hike.
This post will guide you through the most common questions that usually fill up my brain when I start dreaming about hiking a new trail.
… I know, it can be a bit overwhelming, but if I managed to organize this thru hike, so can you. One step at a time, one question at a time… happy trail planning!
What is the GR221?
The GR221, also known as “Drystone Route“, is a 140 km long trail which spans between Port d’ Andratx and Pollença, therefore crossing the mountain range “Sierra de Tramuntana” of Mallorca, the largest of the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean. The trail crosses several charming villages, offering a good selection of accommodations, food and public transports. Hikers usually take between 8 and 10 days to complete this trekking.
What kind of experience does it offer?
The GR221 leads hikers through the rugged mountain range of Mallorca, allowing them to simultaneously experience the wild breeze of mountains and sea. This trail provides breathtaking views from impressive cliffs overlooking the sea, following old stone-paved paths through mountains, charming little villages, and magical holm oak woodlands.
The GR221 is becoming increasingly popular over the years, allowing hikers to bond and form special friendships along the way, by sharing this adventure and all the good moments and the struggles that come with it.
I hiked this trail together with my mom Gio’. It was a special experience that allowed us to combine our passion for hiking with the chance of visiting the wildest mountains of Mallorca, while enjoying the luxury of sleeping in a warm bed at night, tasting local food and building frienships along the way.
That being said, it is important to note that a thru hike will always provide a different and unique experience to every hiker. In short, Hike Your Own Hike!
Where can I find useful information?
The planning phase of a long-distance hike can easily become tricky and overwhealming. Sometimes, too many information are present on the web, making it hard to choose the right one to start with. Sometimes, too few information are available, making the planning even harder. Here you can find the pages that we personally used to organize our trip on the GR221.
The website: we mainly used this website for checking out and booking our stay at some of the refugis along the way.
The book: Paddy Dillon never disappoints. His guide book from Cicerone helped us in the planning of the stages and I brought it with me on trail.
The facebook group: this facebook group is a great place to ask questions and find useful insights, directly from people who already hiked the trail or that are in the same planning phase as you.
The Trail Chat: feel free to ask me anything about the trail, I am always happy to help and support you during the planning phase of your thru hike!
Which difficulties will I face?
The trail itself is not difficult, but could become tougher in bad weather conditions and with a heavy pack on your back. I think that anyone with some hiking experience, enough planning and a moderate fitness level will be able to thru hike the GR221.
The most important points to consider for hiking the GR221 are elencated here below:
HEAVY BACKPACK
Your backpack could become quite heavy if you don’t plan your equipment list well, and a lighter backpack is the key for you to enjoy a long distance hike! You can find a list of everything we brought with us in the post EQUIPMENT.
TERRAIN AND WAYMARKS
The GR221 is also known as “Drystone Route“, and for a very good reason! Bear in mind that walking on the stones of mule trecks will be quite tiring for your feet and legs. On the central and eastern sections, the trail is very well marked. However, on the western section, signposts are at times still missing and the trail is mostly indicated with cairns. These cairns are rather easy to spot if the weather is good and you constantly look for them, but it could become tricky in case of bad weather. We therefore advise to carry a navigation device (a GPS or a map on your phone) and to know how to use it.
WEATHER
The weather is a potential issue that you must not underestimate on the GR221. During summer, the heat could indeed become unbearable. Although winter months could be warm and sunny, there is a higher chance of rain and cold winds on higher altitudes. We hiked the trail in March, and I can assure you, bad weather in the mountains is not to be underestimated!
LEAVE NO TRACE
Although the Leave No Trace principle shouldn’t be considered as a challenge, please make sure to respect the nature you are visiting by picking up and carrying your own trash, including dirty toilet papers, until the next town or refugi.
When is the best time to hike it?
The GR221 is a trail that can be hiked at any time of the year. However, during summer, high temperatures could become unbearable for hiking. Although winter months could be warm and sunny, there is a higher chance of rain and cold winds on higher altitudes.
I would recommend to hike it in late spring (April-May) or early autumn (September-October), when days are usually clear and the chance of rain is lower.
How do I reach the trail?
If you have read the above information about the GR221 and decided that you want to embark on this special adventure, it is time to start thinking about how to actually reach the trail.
The island of Mallorca can be easily reached by plane. We then advise to check the bus schedules and catch an EMT bus from the airport to Palma de Mallorca, and to get off at Plaça d’Espanya. From there, the start of the GR221 at Port d’Andratx can be reached with the bus 102. At the end of the GR221, you can travel back from Pollença to Palma de Mallorca using the bus 340. In Palma you can catch again an EMT bus heading to the airport.
For getting around the island, although more expensive, we always used taxis. However, bus services are quite well established and will allow you to get to almost any village.
In the post OUR TRIP you can find our travel schedule, which might give you some inspiration.
What should I pack?
For hiking the GR221, as for any other long distance hike, we advise to minimize your pack weight as much as possible. You will find a detailed list of the equipment we took along with us in the post EQUIPMENT.
Here I will just try to answer the most frequently asked questions during the planning phase of this thru hike.
What about wildcamping and camping gear?
Wildcamping is not allowed on the island of Mallorca and there is only one official campsite on the trail, at Lluc. However, many hikers manage to camp discreetely, without leaving any trace and without being caught. Camping gear and trekking food can be bought in Palma de Mallorca. Since we decided to enjoy the luxus of warm meals and accommodations provided on the GR221, we did not pack any camping gear, therefore reducing the weight of our packs drastically.
How much food should I carry?
It is possible to resupply in all the villages along the GR221. Moreover, warm meals are served in the refugis and amazing local food can be tasted in the restaurants.
We therefore recommend to carry a picknick for the stage only, in order to minimize your pack’s weight. As we stayed in hotels or refugis along the way, we always managed to prepare and pack our own sandwiches during breakfast. If you are curious about our food strategy on the GR221, head to our FOOD post.
How much water should I carry?
Every evening we filled our bottles with tap water, and I personally carried 1.5L with me every day, since we hiked this trail in March and the temperatures were not extremely high. Additionally, bottled water can be purchased at every village in shops or bars, so I wouldn’t worry too much about running out of water. However, if you are planning to hike the GR221 in warmer months, or to wildcamp along the trail, make sure you pack enough water for each stage!
Where can I leave my normal clothes?
You will definitely not need fancy clothes for this adventure. Therefore, make sure to only pack clothes that you REALLY need during the hike. The full list of the clothes I packed can be found in the post EQUIPMENT.
How much money will I spend?
For the entire trip we both spent 1’500 CHF each, including flights.
However, we decided to treat ourselves very well, by sleeping in hotels along the way and enjoying good dinners at restaurants. Moreover, after the trekking, we also spent one additional day as tourists on the island and we always moved around by taxi. Therefore, the budget for this trip could strongly vary depending on your accommodation choice, wheter you choose to bring your own tent, sleep in the cheaper refugis along the way, or in hotels.
I am sure that, with good planning and without additional touristic expenses, the budget for this trip could be easily reduced to 800 CHF, while still enjoying the luxus of sleeping and eating warm meals at the refugis along the trail.
Long story short, don’t get discouraged and plan your own adventure!
CASH OR CARD?
We mostly payed by credit card all the accommodations and meals on the GR221. However, it is always useful to bring a small amount of cash (EUR) along, since some small bars and shops only deal in cash.