Raiguer Voyage Tips and guide

Raiguer is a region crossing the centre of Mallorca, bordered to the northwest by the coastal mountains and to the southeast by Es Plà the central plain. Alcúdia is the only large tourist resort. The rest of Raiguer is agricultural and produces wine and leather: tourists race past on the main highway but seldom linger.

39°45′0″N 2°54′0″E

Map of Raiguer

• 39.85253.1191671 Alcúdia is the main tourist centre for the north of Majorca, with its old town surrounded by a medieval wall.
• 39.7692943.0225282 Sa Pobla is modern, on a grid pattern. It's near a show cave.
• 39.7166672.9166673 Inca is a centre for wine production.
• 39.7066672.7908334 Alaró is best known for its mountain-top castle.
• 39.6492.7775 Santa Maria del Camí is a commuter town for Palma with little of visitor interest.

"Raiguer" is a Catalan word meaning the foothills of a mountain, or the streams running out of them. The northwest boundary of Raiguer is in the hills of Serra de Tramuntana, with limestone bluffs rearing up like colossal sugar cubes. But most of it is level going on a porous sandstone / limestone plain, farmed since prehistoric times. This included wine production even under Moorish rule: the vineyards were wiped out by phylloxera in the late 19th century but restored with resistant American grape varieties. Other agricultural trades include dairy, and leather for shoe-making.

Raiguer is a geographical region or comarca. It's not an administrative entity though 11 of its 13 municipalities share a local government online portal, Mancomunitat. Alcúdia is the only major tourist centre, elsewhere visitors stop briefly for a photo of the old church then whirl on. The largest municipality Marratxí is a residential and light industrial sprawl at the edge of Palma, and part of that city for all practical purposes.

39.54792.73031 Palma de Mallorca Airport (PMI ^IATA) is just south of Raiguer region.

All the towns are on or near Ma-13, which crosses the island from Palma to Alcúdia. Frequent buses follow this spine route, mostly from Palma city and also hourly direct from the airport.

Trains run from Palma to Inca every 20 min then branch for Sa Pobla or Manacor.

Alcúdia has ferries from Barcelona on the mainland and Ciutadella on Menorca.

Anywhere on the spine route is easily reached by bus or train. You want wheels for outlying attractions.

• Art gallery: the pick is Museu sa Bassa Blanca on the headland beyond Alcúdia.
• Churches: in Alcúdia the main church is Sant Jaume, with Ermita de la Victòria out on the headland. Other fine churches are Santa Maria in Inca and Nostra Senyora de Robines in Binissalem.
• Caves: the limestone bedrock has weathered into karstic decorated caves. Public show caves are at Campanet near Sa Pobla.
• Talaiots are prehistoric village ruins. A good example is Son Fred near Inca.
• Parc Natural de s'Albufera is a wetland nature reserve east of Alcúdia.

• Beach: Alcúdia is the start of a 14 km sandy beach, extending east into Can Picafort. It has boat trips and other water-based activities.

Alcúdia, Sa Pobla and Inca have large supermarkets, Alaró only has convenience stores.

All the towns hold a weekly market.

The best selection is in Alcúdia: in town centre, by the port, or along the beach. Many close for winter.

In other towns, cafes and bars cluster round the main square.

Binissalem near Alaró is a wine-growing DOP, producing red and white.

All the towns have bars.

Alcúdia as a resort has the widest selection of accommodation.

Fincas are agro-tourism or farm stays.

Safeguard valuables and beware traffic, same as anywhere else.

• Serra de Tramuntana is the line of mountains along Mallorca's north coast. Sóller is a very touristy place near the coast with a heritage tram system.
• Pla de Mallorca is the agricultural plain east of Raiguer. Can Picafort is a resort, an extension of the beach strip from Alcúdia.
• Palma de Mallorca the island capital need a couple of days to explore.