Monastery mountain Puig de Randa on Mallorca – Hip & Hot

Monastery mountain Puig de Randa in Mallorca is a mountain that is part of the municipal territory of Algaida. At the top is the sanctuary of Cura. The Puig de Randa is the place where Ramon Llull went to do penance after his conversion. To get there you can walk, bike or drive along a road full of hairpin bends. You need a bit of nerves of steel for that, especially in the high season when it is busy. Those who go cycling or walking also need a good condition.

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Monastery mountain Puig de Randa in Mallorca

Monastery mountain Puig de Randa on Mallorca is about half an hour’s drive from the capital Palma de Mallorca. Via the MA-15 you go to the MA-5010 and finally the MA-5018 to the top. The asphalted road from Randa via Santuari de Cura is 4.7 km long and has an average gradient of 5.2%. The top of the climb is at 533 meters. Although the top of the mountain is downright ugly with a large white sphere and all kinds of radio masts, the location of the monastery is idyllic and the view is more beautiful than beautiful. Especially at sunrise or sunset you can take beautiful pictures and look around.

Three monasteries

On Puig de Randa or actually the road to it you will find 3 different monasteries. Google Maps calls it places of worship, by the way. These are Santuari de Garcia, Ermita San Honorato and at the very top Cova del Beat Ramon Llull. All monasteries can be visited, you can easily make a stopover and walk around. The first monastery gives a bit of an idea of ​​what view you can expect at the top. Dating back to the 15th and 17th centuries, the monasteries have been rebuilt and renovated several times. From Santuari de Garcia a footpath marked with cairns leads to the next monastery. This walk takes about 10 minutes. Ermita San Honorato is a monastery that is still inhabited, so you can only visit the church and the courtyard here.

Sanctuary of Nostra Senior de Cura

At the top of Puig de Randa you will find the last monastery: Santuari de Nostra Senior de Cura. This is above all a robust structure. Nowadays it also houses a hotel and a restaurant, where you can have a bite to eat with an amazing view. The hotel is called, surprisingly, Sanctuary of Cura and it is definitely worth staying here for a night. You can dine next door restaurant. Both are only open from March through November. You can visit the monastery itself in the low season, but bring something for a picnic with a view of Palma and the Serra de Tramuntana. There is a large parking lot in front of the monastery, but I can imagine that this can be quite full in high season. At the beginning of March we were the only ones. You walk through the gate in the wall to the courtyard, where there are some tall trees. Here you already have a nice view. If you turn right to the well-maintained courtyard garden, you can enjoy beautiful vistas and beautiful flowers and plants.

Ramon Llull

The founder of this shrine was Ramon Llull (1235-1315). This was quite a special personality, so I read. After a life full of scandals at the royal court as a nobleman, he had a divine revelation at the age of 30. Since then he only wore a homemade habit and tried to convert Muslims. The story goes that he was finally stoned to death in Algeria, but there is no historical evidence of that. His statue is in the garden, you can’t miss it. Behind the garden is a small church that you can visit and a tourist shop where you can buy trinkets (also only in high season).

The cave of enlightenment

Unfortunately, we missed the cave of enlightenment during our visit to Monastery Mountain Puig de Randa on Mallorca. I read about it later. From the parking lot a sign shows you the way, but we missed this sign. first a bit on the road, then turn left along a narrow path and after 10 minutes you will come to a cave where Ramon Llull retreated for eight days in 1275 and had a mystical experience. Here he started a book about an “argumentation machine” which is seen by many as the forerunner of the computer. There are often flowers in the cave. There was also a statue of Ramon Llull, but this has unfortunately been destroyed and weathered. I don’t have any pictures of this myself, but they can be found on Google Maps.

After your visit to Puig de Randa

Those who came by bike or walked will probably rest for a while at Puig de Randa. Fortunately, the way back is a lot less intense, because then you go downhill. Although that also seems pretty scary on a bike, with all those hairpin bends and the speed you make! We made a few stops on the way down to take pictures of the view, you see just different things than on the mountain itself. This may be less easy in high season because of the crowds. Now we didn’t meet anyone at all and we could safely stop on the road and get out. Back in Randa you can have a drink or eat on the terrace Cellar Bar Randa.

Also to Mallorca?

I booked my flight with Transavia, outside the holidays you can find relatively cheap tickets. Be sure to rent a car, because then you can really see something of the island. I always rent through Sunny Cars, because they have a nice all-in formula, where you can never be faced with surprises. As hotels I can next to the hotel on the Puig de Randa as well Hotel Brick Palma or hotel Protur Naisa Palma hotel (both recommended, but the first is a bit cheaper than the second). Last bus not least: enjoy Mallorca!