living mallorca

Deep in the westerly mountain chain called Serra de Tramuntana, recently named World Heritage Site, lies the small village of Orient. It is geographically between Sóller and Alaró, in the valley of Orient. It remains considerably rural and houses are of beautiful Majorcan style, fully made with stones. It is surrounded by oaks, pine and olive trees.

I have only visited this village during the cold winter months and it really makes you want to sit next to a chimney and have a cup of tea or hot chocolate whilst looking outside to the green fields and more than probably mist. This is what I exactly did last time I visited, at the Restaurant Orient, famous for its suckling pig (I only went for a warm coffee).

Orient is eminently peaceful during the winter but becomes a bit more lively during the summer months. In fact, it is home to two four-star hotels (L’Hermitage and S’Olivaret) or the agrotourism hotels Son Palou and Honor Vell. If you are looking for a bit of peace and quiet, this is the place to be. It also offers those who love nature the possibility to go explore the area by bike or hiking, as the scenery is green and beautiful. The impressive waterfall of Salt des Freu is also nearby.

Residents often come to Orient for its food. It is a famous place to have truly Majorcan dishes, such as sopes mallorquines, lobster stew, botifarró, frit mallorquí, sopes mallorquines, ensaïmades or the famous sobrassada.