
Sa Calobra is the Snake Road of Mallorca
Spain, europe
12.2 km
682 m
extreme
Year-round
# Sa Calobra Road: Mallorca's Mind-Bending Masterpiece
If you've ever watched wet spaghetti hit the floor, you've basically seen the blueprint for Sa Calobra Road. This legendary route winds through northwestern Mallorca's rugged coastline, just east of Port de Sóller, and it's absolutely wild.
This eight-mile stretch of paved madness (officially MA-2141) was hand-carved in 1932 by engineer Antonio Parietti without a single machine—seriously. He removed 31,000 cubic meters of rock to create this serpentine marvel, drawing inspiration from a necktie's shape to design the road's famous spiraling loops and avoid building any tunnels. The result? A 7.58-mile ribbon of asphalt that climbs to 682 meters above sea level while featuring more than 50 hairpin turns.
The road's crown jewel is the legendary Nus de Sa Calobra (the Tie Knot)—a head-spinning 270-degree curve that loops under itself. It's one of only five roads in Spain with this kind of architectural audacity, and for good reason: it's seriously technical. Narrow sections, minimal guardrails, and gradients exceeding 7% make this a beast in wet conditions. Summer months bring heavy traffic, but if you take it slow (around 20 km/h), you'll have about 25-35 minutes to soak in the dramatic rocky canyons and soaring peaks.
Cyclists and adrenaline junkies consider this the ultimate test. Even the film *Cloud Atlas* featured this stunner on screen.
Where is it?
Sa Calobra is the Snake Road of Mallorca is located in Spain (europe). Coordinates: 39.7023, -4.5083
Road Details
- Country
- Spain
- Continent
- europe
- Length
- 12.2 km
- Max Elevation
- 682 m
- Difficulty
- extreme
- Coordinates
- 39.7023, -4.5083
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