Majorca - East Coast Attractions

2km/1.5mi west of Porto Cristo on the road to Manacor are the Cuevas dels Hams ("Caves of the Fish-Hooks"). The caves get their name from the shape of some of the stalactitic formations, particularly in the chamber known as the Angel's Dream, which grow in all directions and curve into the shape of fish-hooks. In these caves too there is an underground lake, known as the "Venetian Lake".

Minor roads run southeast from Artá and southwest from Capdepera to a crossroads from which a road continues southeast, passing a 13th century watch-tower, to the Cuevas de Artá, on the coast. The entrance to this cave system, which has a total length of 450m/500yd, is 40m/130ft above sea level. The caves contain impressive stalactites and stalagmites.

From Palma C 715 runs east to Algaida. A few kilometers before the town, at Son Gual, is a Prehistoric Park, with lifesize reproductions of prehistoric animals.

2km/1.5mi before Algaida are the Gordiola glassworks, where visitors can watch glassblowers at work, and where there is a small but interesting museum of glassware.

C 715 continues from Manacor to Artá. Here, on a hill surrounded by battlements from which there are good views, is the Baroque Santuario de San Salvador. In a wooded area to the south of the town are the remains, known as Ses Paises, of a megalithic settlement (c. 1000-800 B.C.) surrounded by a double ring of walls.

From Capdepera a detour can be made to Cala Ratjada, once a fishing village and now a holiday resort. From here it is a 2km/1.5mi walk to the lighthouse on Cabo Capdepera, the most easterly point on Majorca.

Beyond Artá on C 715 is Capdepera, an old-world little town with a prominently situated 14th century castle, the chapel of which (1323) still survives.

From the crossroads southwest of Capdepera, the southwest road comes to Son Servera, from which a road goes down to Cala Millor. To the south of this resort is the Reserva Africana, an area of some 40 hectares/100 acres in which large African mammals (but no big cats) live in natural conditions. Visitors can drive through the reserve in their cars.

This 8ha garden enclosed flowering shrubs and pine trees which get a setting for the important collection of modern sculpture.