Barranc de Binigaus

The sun lights the rim of the Barranc de Binigaus, but down on the trail it rarely reaches you, and most of the walk runs in shade between steep limestone walls. Those walls are riddled with natural caves; the Cova des Coloma is the one people come looking for.

The ravine floor is thick with Mediterranean plants, wild olive and mastic among them, and the growth is dense enough that one step off the path puts you in thorns. Near the top lies the talayotic village of Sant Agustí Vell. At the bottom the ravine opens onto the sea at Binigaus beach, so the walk down ends at the water.

• There are no toilets and no drinking water near the ravine. Fill your bottles before you set off.
• Keep to the marked path. Off it, the scrub is thick and thorny.
• The walk links Es Migjorn Gran with the beach, so plan the return: walk back up, or head for the Santo Tomas Vistamar bus stop on the coast side.
• The ravine is shaded, but the beach at the lower end is open to the sun.

The walk starts from the Es Migjorn Gran end of the ravine. The Es Migjorn bus stop is about 940 m away in a straight line. Drivers have two car parks, about 500 m and 640 m away.

Two information boards mark the area: one for the talayotic village of Sant Agustí Vell, about 500 m away, and one for the nature trail, about 690 m away. From there it is on foot the whole way, down the marked path to the coast. From the sea end, the nearest stop is Santo Tomas Vistamar, about 2.4 km away in a straight line.

Best: spring and autumn, starting in the morning.

Avoid: days of heavy rain, and the hottest part of a summer day.

The ravine walls keep the trail in shade, but the open beach at the bottom takes the full sun, and after a storm the ravine floor carries runoff.

The Barranc de Binigaus passes through farmland, and a couple of farms halfway down the ravine block public access to their ground. Keep to the marked path through the ravine and stay off the fields and farm tracks around it.