Castell d'Alaró
1
The physical environment
Welcome to Alaró Castle, located at the summit of Puig d’Alaró, 827 metres above sea level. This plateau-shaped site, surrounded by steep cliffs, has made the location an almost impregnable natural fortress.
To understand this landscape, we must travel back millions of years. Like the rest of the Tramuntana mountain range, this mountain was formed between thirty-seven and twenty-four million years ago, when the collision between the African and European tectonic plates uplifted these mountains.
The rocks you can see were formed during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, when this entire area lay beneath the sea. At that time, sediments accumulated and, over time, transformed into limestone and dolomitic rock.
When the mountain emerged, between twenty and fifteen million years ago, water and wind began shaping the landscape. Although these rocks are hard, they slowly dissolve in water, forming cracks, fissures and small cavities.
Some of these cavities still survive today, including the Cave of Saint Anthony and the Cave of the Moor Jai, among others.
At the same time, falling rock and erosion gradually carved the great cliffs visible today. The summit, being more resistant, remained as a relatively flat surface, with a single accessible point to the north-west, making it the ideal place to build the Castle.
To understand this landscape, we must travel back millions of years. Like the rest of the Tramuntana mountain range, this mountain was formed between thirty-seven and twenty-four million years ago, when the collision between the African and European tectonic plates uplifted these mountains.
The rocks you can see were formed during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, when this entire area lay beneath the sea. At that time, sediments accumulated and, over time, transformed into limestone and dolomitic rock.
When the mountain emerged, between twenty and fifteen million years ago, water and wind began shaping the landscape. Although these rocks are hard, they slowly dissolve in water, forming cracks, fissures and small cavities.
Some of these cavities still survive today, including the Cave of Saint Anthony and the Cave of the Moor Jai, among others.
At the same time, falling rock and erosion gradually carved the great cliffs visible today. The summit, being more resistant, remained as a relatively flat surface, with a single accessible point to the north-west, making it the ideal place to build the Castle.
Castell d'Alaró
The barbican