Deià is one of the prettiest small villages in Mallorca. It's located in the northwest part of the island in a ravine at the base of Teix Mountain which is part of the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range. It's had a number of famous people visit and reside here over the years, most notably the English poet/author Robert Graves. It's quite artsy and has an upscale feel with galleries, shops and restaurants. We spent a wonderful day hiking in this area and then wandering around the village.
Getting to Deià:
The drive to Deià from Palma took about 35 minutes and the countryside was beautiful with lots of farms, terraced olive trees, orchards and stone residences. For those using public transportation bus #210 runs from Palma and takes 40-50 minutes.
A Coastal Hike
This is a popular area to hike since the Serra de Tramuntana mountains are covered by an extensive network of trails. We decided to do a section of Deià - Béns d'Avall - Llucalcari vía GR®221, starting at Béns d'Avall so we could enjoy the views of the water while going along the coast.
This took us past wonderful old gnarly olive trees and amazing rock walls and ruins. We climbed ingenious small ladders over fences in several parts as we headed down toward the bright blue water and it was quite forested with interesting types of vegetation.
At the bottom we climbed out to sit on some cool rocks and enjoyed watching the crashing waves.
Then we drove past large stone homes nestled along the coast until we reached the main part of Deià and found a small parking lot just as we entered town.
Wandering the Village of Deià
The village spreads out at the base of the mountain and it's hard to describe just how picturesque it is! It's filled with stone buildings, citrus trees, wonderful architecture and lots of narrow little steps and places to explore. It was later in the afternoon when we arrived so the lighting became soft and it was hard to not stop every five minutes to use the camera. Since we were visiting in January many of the businesses were closed but we loved being able to see it so uncrowded and quiet. In the busier times of the year it's probably a totally different experience and it would be fun to explore the shops, museums and restaurants that would all be open and bustling with people.
We stopped for a cup of tea at one of the few places that was open and then continued walking on the sidewalk next to the road as it curved out of the main part of town. We discovered there were spectacular views of the village and the bordering mountains from this location.
As the sun got low we grabbed a few things at a small grocery store to bring back with us and began the drive home catching a wonderful sunset on the way out of town. It was the end to a perfect day in this stunning part of Mallorca.
January 2023