Exploring the stunning Cova Tancada

I do have a habit of looking for peaks, cliffs and other features on maps and then making other people go to these places for little adventures with me. This is what happened to Brigitte when we were hiked/scrambled to and spelunked in the Tancada cave on this memorable excursion.

Exploring the stunning Cova Tancada

A huge solitary cave system earned by a scrambly approach
Besides the many many other great outdoorsy things I already have discussed on this website Mallorca is also home to a large number of caves ranging from very small to massive systems. Some of these caves, like the ones close to Arta or Porto Cristo, are particularly impressive and have been converted to tourist attractions. Others are less well known and harder to reach, like the Pirates caves south of Canyamel or the Cova Tancada on the Alcudia peninsula.

The Cova Tancada consists of several small and one very large cave that can be accessed through an entrance only a few meters above the water's edge. To get to the entrance one either needs a boat or has to deal with a 150 meter scramble descent. This difficult and exposed descent combined with the fact that the cave is not super well known leads to only very few people coming here. On the day of our visit we did not see anybody on the approach and had the cave to ourselves!

We chose to hike from the parking at the Alcanada beach. From here the way follows the coastline for about 3 km on good trails before it heads inland onto forest roads. Finally it drops down into the aforementioned scrabble to the cave. In total the way from the parking to the cave is about 5 km, however do not underestimate the time the last few hundred meters might take you, especially if you are not used to difficult terrain.

The cave itself is easy to get into and navigate. Honestly getting lost in there would be very difficult. Inside the temperature is about 20-25 degrees with very high humidity - so there is no need for any special gear except headlamps of course. In total we spend about 45 minutes in the cave exploring, taking pictures and interpreting which animals the stalactites and stalagmites might form. Be aware of the slippery ground - breaking an ankle here would lead to a very difficult rescue...

Stepping into the cave the feeling of entering a completely different world from the outside is quite special. And on entering the main cave (after navigating a few smaller ones) with its cathedral high ceiling, thousands of rock features and sheer size one is almost overwhelmed. We at least at least gasp audibly several times when the light of our headlamps found another fascinating feature or just could not reach the other end of the cave because of the size.

I can fully recommend this little adventure, especially if you are lucky and have the place for yourself also.

Adventurers: Brigitte and Bengt