Balearic Islands
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Balearic Islands
Not far off of the south coast of Spain lie the wondrous, paradisical Balearic Islands. Hidden turquoise bays in between of evergreen, lush nature. Enchanting coves hiding behind rocky shores. Gorgeous sunsets and seemingly endless sand beaches. These few islands have a lot more to offer than you would think.
The Balearics divide into two smaller groups, the Gymnesian Island and the Pityusic Islands. Starting with the northern Gymnesian Island group, consisting of Mallorca, Menorca and Cabrera.
The smallest one of these, Cabrera, is actually a whole archipelago of 18 Islands around the main island of Illa de Cabrera. The whole area is a national park with only a few civilians living on the main island - and for sure this national park is waiting for you with its flora and fauna. The islands are an important station for migrating birds and also home to a lot of different native bird species.
Cruising only a few sea miles to the north, you will encounter the beauty of Mallorca. The northern coast is rugged all along its shores and generally higher and mountainous region with the Puig Major as highest peak on the island. In complete contrast, Es Pla, the flatter plain extending from Palma. The island sports a very rich flora and fauna, and also a lot of caves - above and below the sea. A famed spot for sailing tourists would be the bay of Alcúdia - here you can admire mountain villages from older times and a typical majorcan cuisine, that will leave you breathless.
Ibiza is the island of day and night, offering an incomparable nightlife experience as well as a vastly unknown diversity in both flora and fauna. Lush pine forests inhabited by a rare cat-like animal species called Genets and a whole lot more different species of animals make up Ibiza’s wildlife. Most of Ibiza’s northern coast is under protection - since it is the only retreat for these rare species living on the island. Nightlife and tourism is on the other side of the island. Since the 90’s parties with the most famous DJs in the world and full moon parties going on for whole weekends started drawing party people from all over the world - no suprise that Ibiza has the greatest disco, the “Privilege”, with a capacity of more than 10,000 people.
Travelling a bit down south - some would say a swimmable distance - we encounter Ibiza’s little sister Island, Formentera. Renowned for its pristine white beaches and a hotspot for naturism, Formentera was a popular hub for the hippie culture in the 60s & 70s. The island was home to a number of famous artists and its beaches can be seen in a few music videos, for example Chris Rea’s “On the Beach”. The southern part of the island is rather sparsely inhabited and most of the region is under protection. Undoubtedly Formentera has one of the most beautiful beaches in the world and has a mostly untouched nature open for exploration.
Although being so close together and actually an island group with a size of “only” 2000 square miles altogether, each of these islands and islets is different. What all of them have in common though, is the beauty in their landscape - rocky shores, sandy beaches, mountain ranges, barren hills, evergreen forests, unique fauna and all kinds of touristic and artistic culture. On top of all these irresistible arguments, the mediterranean climate - with the lowest mean temperature of around 60°F in February - just makes this Island group to a paradisical experience for everyone.
