Puig Major is the highest peak on the Spanish island of

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

. With an elevation of above sea level. It is situated in the Serra de Tramuntana mountains. As the mountain is located in a military zone, the neighbouring peak Puig de Massanella (1,364 m) is considered the highest accessible summit on the island. The nearest town and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

to Puig Major is Sóller, a village near the north west coast of Majorca.

Military Zone

There is currently a military installation, a radar, of the

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

at its summit. As a consequence of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, the first Friendship, Defense, and Cooperation Agreement between Spain and the United States, signed in 1954, agreed on the installation of radar at the top of Puig Major for

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

air control of the Western Mediterranean, starting the works of the new road, barracks, reservoir and radar station in 1955. In December 1959, they were completed, and access was permanently restricted. In 2000 the facilities were modernized, and a new type of radar was installed, which has recently allowed the demolition of some obsolete buildings and facilities near the summit. The Puig Major base is an organic-operational dependency of the Combat Air Command. Puig Major Air Barracks/Air Surveillance Station EVA-7. Its installation meant a tremendous environmental impact on the area due to the need to truncate the summit to obtain a flat surface, which meant a loss of height of around 9 meters. The access road to the summit, with a very aggressive layout (straight lines, without adapting to the contours of the terrain) and without any prevention of environmental or landscape impacts, destroyed the old stone path that ascended from the Coll de N'Arbona, widely used by the people of Sóller. The accumulation of debris cones or scree, as a result of these works, has caused significant damage to the slopes of the summit, which are the habitat of numerous endemic plants. Being military land and belonging to the Zayas family, access requires the appropriate military authorization from the US Air Force. Their barracks are also at the foot of Puig Major, very close to Son Torrella. During the second half of the 20th century, two orange protective spheres containing all the radar equipment remained on the summit. They became popular among Mallorcans with the name "Las Bolas" or "Ses Bolles." In 2005 a single, larger sphere was built due to a technological renovation.

Hiking

Hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

has an extensive tradition in

, and hikers love the Puig Major for its beautiful routes, such as the climb to Penyal des Migdia to the southwest of the summit or Morro D'en Pelut to the north. Both routes partially involve the intrusion into the military zone, commonly without permission.

References

External links

*{{commons-inline Mountains of Mallorca Mountains of the Balearic Islands Highest points of Spanish provinces