Quality Holidays in Minorca.

Minorca is almost completely flat, the average altitude varies between 50m and 100m and there is only one hill, Monte Toro (358 m), near Mercadal, of more than 300m in height.
For this reason, the bicycle has always been a favourite means of transport on Minorca. The gradients and distances prove very inviting and the scenery and surroundings, delightful. There are no rivers, only water courses, practically always dry, which gradually become ravines leading to the sea. The bottoms of the ravines are sometimes cultivated, but generally the natural vegetation thrives there.

To say that Minorca has a Mediterranean climate is too vague. More rain falls on Minorca, the most Northerly of the Balearics, than on any other island in the system. The Autumn and Summer are very dry, causing us to use our fresh water sparingly. It's very interesting to see how the farm houses or "llocs" employ ingenious systems of channels and conduits to collect and conserve rainwater in wells and cisterns.

The agricultural sector has been the mainstay of our economy, both crops and livestock. At times during our history, shipbuilding has played an important role and our craftsmen have always been justly renowned for their skill. The visitor can see how these important elements of life in Minorca have shaped the very landscape of the island.

The traditional lifestyle of Minorca has not been swept aside by mass tourism. Our landscape demonstrates the important role agriculture plays in Minorca today, a fundamental characteristic of the island being its division into small fields "tanques", separated by dry stone walls or "parets seques" as we call them. These walls serve two purposes, they help clear the fields of stones so they can be ploughed and cultivated more easily, and they protect the crops from the strong winds.