Hike · GR-221 · Establiments
Camí des Correu — the old postal trail ends at our door
Esporles → Establiments: 4.5 km, 1.5 hours, mostly downhill. Dry stone walls, holm oak, lunch at the finish.
The Camí des Correu is the historic postal trail walked by 18th- and 19th-century postillons between Esporles and Palma, carrying letters between the mountain villages and the capital. Today it's part of the GR-221, the "Ruta de Pedra en Sec" ("Dry Stone Way") — the long-distance route that crosses the entire Tramuntana from Andratx to Pollença. And if you walk it from Esporles, it ends at our front door in Establiments.
📍 Route and stats
- Length: 4.5 km
- Elevation: 200 m descent Esporles → Establiments (or 200 m climb in reverse)
- Time: 1:30 h downhill, 1:45 h uphill — plus stops for photos and views
- Difficulty: easy — well-marked, well-maintained path, no scrambling
- Waymarks: GR-221, white-and-red blazes
- Best months: October to May. In peak summer go early morning or late afternoon for the heat.
🌳 What you see
Dry stone walls (pedra en sec) — stones laid without mortar, built 200 years ago by farmers as olive-grove boundaries, now UNESCO World Heritage. They line the entire trail. Holm oak forest with clearings where pigs once foraged for acorns. Finca terraces with old olive trees, some over 500 years old. Halfway down, an abandoned 17th-century irrigation canal (acequia) that used to carry water from Esporles to the mills below in Establiments.
Views of Palma bay open up after the first two kilometres. You see the city and the Mediterranean below — rare on the GR-221 to be so close to the coast and the mountains in one view.
🥾 Practical
Trailhead in Esporles: Plaça d'Espanya in Esporles (TIB-203 bus stop direct from Palma). The path begins 200 m east of the square, off the MA-1100. Trail end in Establiments: directly outside our restaurant wall on Carrer d'Esporles 233. The last 100 metres are along the Carretera itself — light traffic during hiking months.
Footwear: solid trainers or light trekking shoes — the path is well-maintained. Water: 1.5 l in summer, 1 l in winter. Dogs: allowed on lead — there are sheep on the finca terraces.
Reserve a table at the trail end
We strongly recommend walking the trail in the morning and arriving with us around 13:00. More on that in our follow-up: where to eat after the Camí des Correu.