Sa Calobra and Torrent de Pareis

The road to Sa Calobra, built in 1932 by the engineer Antonio Parietti, descends about eight hundred metres in twelve kilometres through the Tramuntana with a series of hairpins including the Nus de sa Corbata, the tie knot, where the road loops through a full circle and passes under itself. At the bottom, a small cove sits at the mouth of the Torrent de Pareis, a canyon that drains the highest part of the range and which in places narrows to a few metres between walls hundreds of metres high; a short tunnel through the rock leads from the cove to its mouth. Walking the canyon from the top is a serious full-day scramble with abseils and pools, done only in dry conditions and by the experienced.

What you actually see

• The tie knot - a road looping through a full circle under itself.
• The canyon mouth - the Torrent de Pareis opening onto a pebble cove.
• The rock tunnel - a passage from the cove to the canyon entrance.
• The narrow section - walls closing to a few metres deep in the gorge.

When to go

April to June and September to October; summer brings very heavy traffic on the road and coaches at the bottom. The canyon walk is possible only in settled dry weather and is closed after rain.

Honest expectations

The road is narrow, extremely busy and shared with coaches and cyclists, and the descent and return take well over an hour each way. Parking at the bottom is limited and charged. The canyon descent is a technical route, not a walk, and people die in it.

Nearby

Port de Soller runs boats to the cove; the Tramuntana road continues to Lluc and Pollenca.