Es Colomer is the viewpoint that appears on every Mallorca postcard, and the postcards for once do not lie. The mirador stands on a bare rock ledge a couple of hundred metres above the Mediterranean, at the point where the Formentor peninsula narrows into a ridge of pale limestone, and the view down the cliffs to the little island of Illa des Colomer is dizzying. Gulls ride the updraughts at eye level. The water below is an unlikely shade between turquoise and navy, and the wind can be fierce.
The road to it, the Ma-2210, is one of the most celebrated stretches of tarmac in the Balearics. It leaves Port de Pollença, climbs through pine woods and then clings to the cliffs, with hairpins, tunnels and blind corners every few hundred metres. It was engineered in the 1920s by Antonio Parietti, and the way it follows the contours of the mountain, rather than blasting through them, still impresses. The surface is good, but the road is narrow, and in high summer it fills with coaches, rental cars and cyclists. Ride it very early or toward sunset, when the shadows lengthen and the traffic thins. Overtaking is rarely sensible, and a camera on a bike here is easily distracted, so pull in at the signed bays.
The limestone cliffs belong to the Serra de Tramuntana, and the scrub that covers the headland is home to wild goats, which wander the roadside with serene indifference. You may also see Eleonora's falcons in late summer, as they arrive to nest on the cliffs and hunt migrating songbirds. The smell is pine resin, hot rock and salt. On windy days, especially with a northerly, the gusts at the mirador are strong enough to make you grip the bike hard.
Port de Pollença, about four kilometres back, has pumps, supermarkets and plenty of cafés along the bay, and Alcúdia is a larger option further along. A small kiosk is sometimes open near the viewpoint, but carry your own water. After the viewpoint the road continues to the beach at Formentor and then to the lighthouse at the tip.