Caló d'es Moro

Interesting facts

The name means roughly the little cove of the Moor, and local tradition links it to a landing, or attempted landing, by Moorish pirates centuries ago.

Within living memory the cove was almost unknown even in Santanyí: older residents recall that there was no path, only pines and scrub down to the water.

Smugglers once used this stretch of coast, carrying heavy sacks between the cove and neighbouring s'Almunia, with small stone cairns serving as signals from the sea.

Winter storms can strip away much of the sand, as currents drag the sediment offshore and leave the beach rockier until it slowly rebuilds.

The inlet faces east-southeast, so it is sheltered from most winds but open to swells from that one direction.

A few minutes' walk away lies s'Almunia, a rocky inlet with old fishermen's boathouses and a tiny landing stage.

Why it is worth it

Caló d'es Moro is a tiny cove on the southeastern coast of Mallorca, in the municipality of Santanyí, and its smallness is the point. The beach itself is only about thirty metres long and twenty wide, a pocket of white sand and pebbles at the end of a narrow inlet. Around it rise tall limestone walls covered with pines, broom and mastic, so that the cove seems cut into the island rather than lying along its edge. Over the sandy bottom the water is extraordinarily clear, shading from glassy green near the shore to deep turquoise where the inlet opens towards the sea.

This is the Mallorca of the calas, the small drowned valleys that notch the island's southeastern coast, and Caló d'es Moro is one of the purest examples. Nothing is built at the water's edge; the only trace of people is the footpath that winds down the slope through the pines. Close to shore the depth is only three or four metres, which makes the water ideal for snorkelling along the rocky sides, and small boats sometimes anchor in the mouth of the inlet. The finest view is from the rocks above, where the full shape of the cove can be seen: a sharp notch of colour between pale stone and dark pine.

Its beauty has a cost. The cove is so small and so photographed that in summer it fills to the edge, and the best time to see it as it should be seen is early in the morning or outside the high season, when the light is low and the colours are at their strongest.

Getting there

Caló d'es Moro lies on the southeastern coast of Mallorca near Cala Llombards; Felanitx is about 18 km away and the town of Santanyí is closer. The nearest airport is Palma de Mallorca Airport (PMI), about 42 km away. The beach has no road access: parking is about a kilometre away near the residential area of sa Comuna, followed by a walk of around 400 metres down a steep cliff path. The cove can also be reached by boat.

Caló d'es Moro

Interesting facts

Why it is worth it

Getting there

Plan your visit

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