Occasionally every cyclist on Mallorca aims for Coll de sa Bataia, the highest point on the way to Santuari de Lluc. If you wear hiking boots however, the coll is just starting point to another spectacular summit. Aim high: Puig de Massanella is the second tallest mountain on Mallorca after Puig Major. But the 360-degree-vista from the top is just as breathtaking.

For the first half an hour or so it’s an easy walk on soft ground through light wood. I love the play of light and leaves, the semi-shadow that allows for moderate temperatures even on a hot day. But the path soon steepens and gets more and more rocky. Once you’ve crossed the timberline the landscape opens onto a wide plain and the first view of the Massanella’s double summit.

Now, better watch your step. And stop frequently to enjoy the views. The most breathtaking, of course, you get from the very top: to one side the Tramuntana mountain range with its highest mountains, lake Cúber, and the Mediterranean. To the other side the island’s lowlands, stretching out to the Serres de Llevant at the far horizon. There’s a perfect spot to rest just beneath the summit – always makes me want to stay and just marvel.

On a clear and sunny day you might even get a glimpse of Menorca and Ibiza. When the weather is more unstable, like on our last hike, sometimes you get cloud-covered for minutes. Until all of a sudden the blue sky opens up again. Another cool sensation.

On our way back we stopped at the Font de s’Avenc, a small cave with a well. Steps are leading down to pitch black darkness. The light of my smartphone didn’t really make a difference, the rocks swallowed it completely. But just the minute I entered the dark space a bright ray of sunlight fell in and illuminated it for me.