Snow Houses in the Tramuntana Mountains
Did you know that in the 18th century, the first granizados (similar to slushies) and ice creams were enjoyed during the Mallorcan summer? At the beginning of that century, a young entrepreneur named Joan de s'Aigo would recruit men during the winter to go to the Tramuntana mountains and accumulate snow in blocks, preserving it in snow houses or "cases de neu."
When summer arrived, this perfectly preserved ice was transported to Palma, where Joan de s'Aigo mixed it with fruit juice to create delicious granizados and with almonds to make ice cream.
The History of Snow Houses
Snow houses are constructions composed of a path, a house, and a well, walls, and terraces that snow gatherers, known as “neveros” in Spanish, used to store the snow they collected in winter.
Typically, these constructions consisted of an elliptical or rectangular hole dug in the ground. The interior of the well was covered with a dry-stone wall, and the floor was paved to enhance cold conservation. The houses had an outer height of one and a half meters, sheltered with roofs made of reeds or tiles.
The house had a door and two lateral openings to make it easier and more efficient to put the snow inside.
This system was known to be used, at least, since the 16th century in Mallorca and continued to be used until the first ice factories appeared, although many of them remained operational until the mid-20th century.
Snow in Mallorca was a scarce and highly valued commodity. It was collected for medical purposes or to preserve food in homes. When it snowed in the Tramuntana mountains, the nevaters had to act quickly to gather as much snow as possible and store it in the snow house.
Nevaters would compress the snow to reduce its size and accumulate as much as possible, but also to facilitate the formation of ice. Later, it was covered with ash and reeds, promoting its conservation until summer when it was transported to the towns for domestic use.
Places to Visit Snow Houses
Today, the remains of more than forty snow houses are preserved in different locations in the Tramuntana mountains.
- -El Puig d'en Galileu: An old path connecting Lluc with Sóller, where you can visit a snow house. The hike begins at Sa Font Coberta in Lluc, reaching les voltes d'en Galileu, a steep climb leading to Son Macip, where one of the snow houses is located. Half an hour later, arriving at a flat area, you'll find the restored Cases de neu d'en Galileu.
- -Son Moragues Snow House in Valldemosa: It has a public shelter. An easy excursion starting from Son Gual passes through the estate, reaches the encinar de la coma des Cairats, and leads to Font dels Polls and the shelter, previously used by nevaters. This is one of the most famous snow houses in Mallorca.
- -To reach Puig Tomir, you need to be in very good shape. Twelve kilometers of trail are covered in five hours, with excellent views. Upon reaching the summit, you'll discover the remains of the snow houses in this area.
If you love nature, discovering new landscapes, and learning more about the way of life of Mallorcans of yesteryear, you can't miss this post.
