The Ridge to the Pla

Mallorca route guide · Serra de Tramuntana

Riding The Ridge to the Pla

The road that leaves the mountains and lands on the plain, and the only corridor here whose whole identity is one ridge. Out of Alaró under Puig de s’Alcadena and Puig d’Alaró — eight hundred metres of limestone over a road at two hundred — past the named holm-oak wood of Son Fortesa and up four kilometres of holm oak and pine to a broad crest at 267 m, where the gradient turns over from climbing to falling in the space of a bend. Then the steep side: seven per cent down through the quarry country into Lloseta, the cement works’ chimney standing over the valley, the parish church and the little station of rubble limestone that Inca’s is the twin of. Out again across open ground, the Palma line running ten metres off your shoulder and crossing overhead rather than at grade, past the row of seven windmills on the ridge north, and into Inca down the street the railway station stands on.

This point-to-point line covers 12.2 km, from Alaró toward Lloseta toward Inca — the Tramuntana’s last climb.

The route is read through settlement edges: narrow streets, rooflines, roundabouts, church towers, old road alignments, and the moment the built fabric releases the rider back into open country.

Captured in muntro

Relief, gradient, and how to pace it

The elevation trace is rolling rather than alpine, spanning 148 m from low point to high point. There is 84 m of total ascent, enough to reward measured pressure over the rises without turning the whole route into a survival exercise.

Use the opening kilometres to find cadence and keep the power smooth. The route is ideal for endurance work, recovery riding, or simply exploring the island without a large climbing bill.

Points to watch for

The best Mallorca routes are remembered as a sequence of places, not as a GPX line. These are the changes of scene that organise this ride.

1. 01

   Alaró

   The route rolls away from Alaró, giving you a few minutes to find cadence and read the road ahead.

2. 02

   Lloseta

   Lloseta is one of the route’s defining changes of scene and a useful marker for pacing the ride.

3. 03

   Inca — the Tramuntana’s last climb

   Inca — the Tramuntana’s last climb is one of the route’s defining changes of scene and a useful marker for pacing the ride.

4. 04

   256 m high point

   At 256 m high point, the elevation trace reaches its ceiling before the road releases the height it has earned.

Why this road works indoors

muntro does not flatten the Ridge to the Pla into a workout backdrop. The route’s bends, height, and junction order come from the road itself, while a compatible trainer reproduces the changing gradient under your pedals.

The point-to-point format gives the session a destination. There is no need to invent a finish when the real road already has one.