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Cala Mondragó: a unique experience in a natural park

Written by Elisabeth Blue | Aug 27, 2021 8:11:40 AM

In the southeast of the island of Mallorca you’ll find this unique cove with wonderful unspoilt scenery. Cala Mondragó is one of the most beautiful and most visited beaches on the island, and is surrounded by the Mondragó Natural Park in Santanyí, which is why it has such wonderful scenery.

With its sandy beach, rocky caves, dunes, and tall pine trees, Cala Mondragó offers a unique landscape. It’s a small beach, and so it tends to get busy quickly. However, you can use it to access neighbouring beaches such as s'Amarador or Caló d'es Burgit. Hotels VIVA will now tell you why Cala Mondragó is one of the most representative places on the island.

Cala Mondragó Mallorca: a treasure of the Mediterranean

It’s one of the best beaches on the southern part of the island, popular with tourists and locals alike. Just 10 kilometres from the rural village of Santanyí, this area of beauty is known by the name Cala de Mondragó - a blue flag beach in a protected natural area of great beauty and tranquility.

Cala Mondragó is visited by families and people of all ages, and is a 75-metre long cove hidden between rocks and cliffs. Its waters are calm, transparent, and shallow at first, making it ideal for snorkelling and discovering the biodiversity of this natural area.

Located within the Mondragó Natural Park, it’s surrounded by all kinds of pine groves and plants, and, from there, you can explore hiking routes and enjoy the natural landscape of the island.

Despite being an unspoilt cove, it also has some services to ensure you have a great day at the beach. You can rent parasols and sun loungers, there are two beachfront restaurants, two bars, and portable toilets. In addition, during the summer season there’s a lifeguard service.

How do you get to Cala Mondragó?

It’s very easy to access Cala Mondragó. Although it’s best to go by car, there are other means of transport too, such as a bus from Palma de Mallorca and a tourist train that leaves from Cala d'Or in the summer.

If you go by car, you’ll find 3 car parks. One of them is at Cala Mondragó itself, and it’s free. If that car park is full, then you can park at S'Amarador, which has a larger car park. And, as a last alternative, you can leave your car at the Mondragó Natural Park car park, where you’ll have to pay.

After leaving the car there, you’ll have to continue on foot until you reach Cala Mondragó. This cove and its neighbouring coves are accessible for wheelchairs, bicycles and pushchairs.

A cove within a natural park

Due to its location and unique landscape, Cala Mondragó in Mallorca has landscapes that you’ll surely fall in love with. It’s one of the 3 coves that we find within the Mondragó Natural Park, with S'Amarador and Caló d'es Burgit being the other two.

Declared a natural park in 1992, the Mondragó Natural Park has more than 700 hectares to explore. Its main attraction is its enormous variety of landscapes. Inside the park, you’ll find forests, pine forests, fields of crops, freshwater ponds, rocky areas, cliffs, dunes, canyons, defence towers, old dwellings, ravines, and sandy beaches.

Open all year round, entry to the Mondragó Natural Park is free and there’s a tourist information area open from Monday to Friday, from 9 am to 4 pm, where you can obtain information about the park and its different itineraries. At the entrance to the park, there’s a paying car park which is €5 for the whole day and €2 after 5 pm.

In addition to visiting Cala Mondragó for its beauty and to enjoy its lovely beach, we also recommend exploring the Mondragó Natural Park via its footpaths or by bicycle. On these trails, you can admire the diverse landscapes and unspoilt nature that form part of this natural park.

Among the routes you can take in the Mondragó Natural Park we’d like to highlight:

  • The lookout point at sa Font de n'Alis
  • A walk around sa Guàrdia d'en Garrot
  • The path to Sa Punta de ses Gatoves
  • A route around S'Amarador
  • The S'Hort d'en Metge route

Cala Mondragó, as well as the natural park that surrounds it, is one of the places you simply mustn’t miss on your next visit to Mallorca. Its natural landscape is totally unique, not only because of its rich biodiversity and scenery, but also because it has been shaped by centuries of livestock and agricultural activity, which has created very different landscapes in each area of this extensive park.

If you want to swim in a wonderful cove, discover unique landscapes on the island, and get to know more of the incredible Mallorcan fauna and flora, then the Mondragó Natural Park and Cala Mondragó are two unmissable stops for you. Whether you go by bike or on foot, with your family or on your own, you’ll have a wonderful time exploring this impressive part of the island.

¡VIVA nature!