Cala Varques in Mallorca
Cala Varques in Mallorca is one of the somewhat wilder bays on the island. It is difficult to get to the beach. The bay is located on the south-east of the island and to reach it you need to walk the easiest way for about 40 minutes. The beach cannot be reached directly by car, bicycle or scooter, because near the beach there is a wall and padlocked gates, cutting off the access to the bay.
At Cala Varques there are several large estates with huge grounds and the truth is that to get to the beach you have to break into several of them. The owners of the land gave up a good few years ago, because every time they rebuilt a wall or re-fenced the area with a fence, it was destroyed again by locals or tourists. Admittedly, there is a police presence at the bay, so entering there is at your own risk. 90% of people definitely do not care and simply jump over the wall. For those who are not “brave” enough, I recommend considering a trip by sea.
How to get to Cala Varques in Mallorca?
Apart from the possibility to get to the beach by sea (I mean trips by ship, boat, motorboat from various towns – e.g. Porto Cristo, Cala d’or and surroundings), you can also get there on foot. You leave your car (or other means of transport) at the “car park” (I wouldn’t call it a car park, it’s just an inn where you park a dozen or so cars at most) and then you have a 40 minute hike. At the beginning you have to cross a busy street – here I emphasize that you have to be really careful here. In this place cars have enormous speeds, and what is more, the surface can be slippery! There are a lot of accidents involving tourists here every year – I am not joking.
After crossing the street you will come to a gate, behind which you simply have to enter. You cannot drive your car in there, it is only allowed for residents. If you decide to break the ban, you can be sure that you will face a fine of several dozen euros. Residents are very sensitive to this type of violation of the law, add to this the Spanish temperament and allergy to tourists – it makes me shiver, haha! 😉
After passing through the gate, there is about 30 minutes of straight ahead waiting for you. The path is very easy and there is some shade. On the way, you will pass orchards and estate gates. At the end of the first part of the road, you will see gates with big signs “privado”, “no pasar” – meaning “private area, do not pass”. – bla bla, haha! 😀
To get to Cala Varques in Mallorca ON YOUR OWN RESPONSIBILITY you can jump over the wall (on your right), then you will find yourself in an orchard area where there will be another hole in the fence on your left – jump again. Then a few dozen metres ahead (on your right after a while you should see an abandoned, run-down hut) and another hole in the fence will appear – kic kic – and you are near Cala Varques. Now take the trodden path for about 10 minutes and you will be on the beach. On the way you can meet wild goats. I also recommend wearing dark, comfortable sports shoes. Light shoes will get dirty from the orange soil, and I do not recommend 40 minutes of hiking in flip-flops.
Wild cows on Cala Varques in Mallorca
The bay of Varques became famous in Mallorca thanks to the “wild” cows that could be found on it. You could read articles about it in the newspapers, and in google graphics you could find pictures of tourists in bikinis or swimming trunks on the beach in Varques bay, with cows in the background. It sounds abstract, but it was real. One of the owners of the land next to the bay used to let the cows out “into the field”. As the bay is wild, cut off from direct access from the street, the farmer grazed the cows there – really! 😉
However, all this came to an end after a while, due to the fact that tourists were feeding the animals unsuitable food, which could harm them. So the owner stopped letting them out for their own safety. Now the only animals you can see there are wild goats.
Hippies in Majorca.
If you thought Ibiza was the only place where you could find hippies, you’d be wrong. For several years now, the Cala Varques bay has been home to hippies. During the season they open illegal bars by the beach, where they sell drinks and snacks for extremely high prices (you know – they have to deliver them to the beach somehow, haha!). And every season the police visit them to give them fines and punish them accordingly. I’ve lived on the island since 2018, it’s now 2020, and I read the same newspaper story every holiday. It is a kind of never-ending story.
Outside the bar, these free people are not harmful. They live their lives, play guitar, sing, dance, do yoga. When I was on Cala Varques I met such a group and the only thing that surprised me was that at the very entrance to the bay a naked woman appeared in front of my eyes doing yoga. I saw everything that many would want to see on a first date, haha! There was also the smell of marijuana in the air, which is definitely one of the many typical island ‘pastimes’.
Cala Varques is the only bay of its kind on Majorca.
Wild cows, goats, hippies, trespassing – rather hard to repeat. The bay of Varques is definitely recommended in beautiful, sunny weather – then you will definitely be able to enjoy its charm one hundred percent. The colour of the water here will knock you off your feet. Cala Varques is an ideal place for people who love rocks, jumping into water, adrenaline, hiking. I haven’t written this before, but off the trail from the main street you can get to the bay of Varques by hiking trails (from Porto Cristo or Cala Romantica etc). Along the way you can visit the pirate caves and the “puente natural”, a natural bridge where you can take phenomenal photos.
On the way to the natural bridge you will pass another tight and rocky bay with two caves and incredibly turquoise water. It is fabulous! This is where the locals (and others) spread out a rope which they attach to the rocks and then perform tricks on it. There are also brave people who jump from the natural bridge itself, which is several dozen metres high. Just the thought of it makes my stomach ache. If you decide to go further, beyond the natural bridge – you will definitely reach the pirate caves.
Cala Varques beach.
The beach is sandy and stony. There are no toilets and the beach is not guarded either. Unless the hippies decide to set up another business with a bar on the beach, you will not be able to buy anything to eat or drink on the spot. So I recommend that you stock up on everything in advance. In summer one bottle of water is not enough. For water, I recommend shoes for rocks. I recommend taking a diving mask with you because there are a lot of fish – the caves and rocks speak for themselves. In summer there are boats, yachts, ships and catamarans floating on the water. The views are great, not to mention the photo opportunities! This bay is definitely worth recommending – especially in beautiful weather.
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