Capital: Palma de Mallorca.

Area: 4,992 km²

The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea. They are off the Spanish coast near Catalonia and the Valencian Community.

Also known as the popular tourist destinations Ibiza and Majorca, these islands have so much else to offer due to each being a unique biosphere. Protected nature zones cover a total of 2000 km2 of land, which is 40% of the total surface of the archipelago

The landscapes vary widely, not only from one Island to another, but also within the Islands.

Majorca has a surprising diversity of natural habitats and ecosystems. Eleonora’s falcon colonies live on the rocky cliffs. There are about 1,500 different flower and plant species on the island of which 40 are endemic. The evergreen forests consist mainly of Aleppo pines.

Red kite and the Egyptian vulture are common on Menorca, it is also one of the few sites to view Mediterranean tortoise (Testudo hermanni) in its natural habitat. Majorca for example accommodates rough mountain ranges on one side and much gentler hills on the other side, with some wide plains, green forests and many olive or orange groves in between.

The Balearics also has some 250 pairs of Eleanoras falcon nesting during the summer. This is the Iberian stronghold of this highly specialized falcon. Most of the colonies are on the steep cliffs of north-west Majorca on cliff-ledges or in rock crevices. Click here for more information