Wild Menorca: a Biosphere Reserve of Wetlands and Wild Coast

Menorca’s wild side, from the lagoon and dunes of the s’Albufera des Grau natural park to the cape of Favàritx and the Posidonia seagrass of its coves, on an island that is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, with a directory of the places in our guide. Facts from the Govern de les Illes Balears and UNESCO.

Menorca is the quietest of the larger Balearic islands. The whole island has been a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1993: a place where farming, villages and nature have been kept in balance. Its north coast is dark rock and red earth, and in the north-east the lagoon of s’Albufera des Grau is the heart of the island’s natural park.

This is a short guide: Menorca’s nature is best seen slowly, on foot or with a mask in its coves.

The whole of Menorca has been a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1993.

S’Albufera des Grau and Favàritx

The Parc Natural de s’Albufera des Grau, l’Illa d’en Colom i el Cap de Favàritx was declared by decree on 4 May 1995. Its reception and interpretation centre, Rodríguez Femenias, is on the Maó–Es Grau road at km 3.5, with a permanent exhibition on the park’s habitats; check its hours before you go. At the northern end of the park, the lighthouse of Favàritx stands on a bare cape above a turquoise bay; in summer the TIB bus line 43 runs from Maó to the car park near the lighthouse.

The seagrass below the coves

The clear water of Menorca’s coves owes much to the meadows of Posidonia oceanica, a seagrass that grows only in the Mediterranean and shelters fish and stabilises the sand. Under the Balearic Decree 25/2018, uncontrolled anchoring on the Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows is generally prohibited; anchor on sand or use the authorised buoy fields.

Feature: the Balearic shearwater

The Balearic shearwater is a small, brown-and-white seabird that spends its life over the open sea and comes ashore only to nest, in burrows and caves in the cliffs along the northern coasts of the islands. The Balearics are its only nesting area in the world, and it is listed as Critically Endangered, one of the most threatened seabirds anywhere. Look for it from boats and headlands, skimming low over the waves; at night near its colonies, keep lights low.

Did you know? The Balearic shearwater nests nowhere in the world but the Balearic Islands.

Our advice

Our advice: walk the park early, take the summer bus to Favàritx rather than driving, and swim from the coves with a mask to see the seagrass. Anchor only on sand, never feed wildlife, and keep to the paths across the dunes.