S'Estret de Son Gual and the Raiguer Countryside
Few visitors to Inca realise that within a 15-minute drive of the Thursday market lies a network of quiet country lanes, dry-stone walled terraces and almond groves that make up the Raiguer foothills — a landscape unchanged in its essentials since the Moorish settlers who first terraced these slopes a thousand years ago. The area around S'Estret de Son Gual is the most scenic entry point.
The Landscape
The Raiguer is the transitional zone between Mallorca's flat central plain and the dramatic Serra de Tramuntana, and it has a character entirely its own: ancient possessions (stone manor farms) sit behind rusted iron gates, carob and almond trees line unpaved tracks, and the silence is punctuated only by sheep bells and the occasional hoopoe.
In late January and February the almond blossom transforms the landscape into something resembling a Japanese woodblock print — pink and white flowers against grey stone walls and a cobalt sky. This is arguably the most beautiful time to visit the Inca hinterland.
How to Explore
The best approach is by bicycle: rent from Inca Bikes on Carrer de Lluc and follow the signposted Ruta dels Ametllers (Almond Route) that loops through the farmland north of the city, passing through the hamlets of Selva and Biniamar before returning to Inca via quiet back roads.
On foot, the GR-221 long-distance trail passes close to the area, and several shorter PR-I waymarked routes branch off into the Raiguer countryside — pick up a free trail map from the Inca tourist office on Plaça d'Espanya.
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