PALMA
THE Council of Majorca will be promoting the Dry Stone Route at main tourist fairs, both national and international.
This is one of the objectives announced by Catalina Julve, the Council of Majorca's new head of the environment department.
The Dry Stone Route, which runs from Andratx to Pollensa via old paths and refuges where ramblers can stay overnight, is 92 percent complete and, in Julve's judgement, the moment has come to publicise it.
It is a type of tourism which could be a complement to sun and sea tourism, she said.
In collaboration with the Balearic Ministry for Tourism, guides for the route will be printed to be distributed in the main national and international tourist fairs.
The Serra de la Tramuntana route is of great artistic and cultural interest, and it should be promoted as a tourist attraction to Majorcan citizens as well as to those outside the island, explained Julve.
One of the most important works which remains to be done on this route is the restoration of the La Trapa buildings to convert them into refuges. This is a project which has been at a standstill for more than three years.
This work will be carried out during the next three years and will cost 1.5 million euros. The project, said Catalina Julve, is extremely complicated, mainly because air transport is needed to get the materials for the work to this place.
With the aim of speeding up the work, the Minister has announced that private companies will take part in the project as well as the Council of Majorca. Up to now, only teams from the Council of Majorca have been carrying out the necessary work.
At the moment the Council has no intention of buying any fincas for public use. However, Catalina Julve said that the Council has a lot to contribute when fincas are being bought, whether it be by the Balearic Government or the Spanish Ministry for the Environment. We are in agreement with everything which will add these fincas to the heritage, and save them from the building explosion, said Julve. An age of collaboration among entities has dawned, she added.