Dalt Vila: The Walls Above Ibiza
Balearic Islands, Spain
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Renaissance Bastions
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250
XP
+100 Spain
= 350 total
1 day
Dalt Vila: The Walls Above Ibiza
250 + 100 XP
Ibiza is known for one thing and the other thing is up the hill behind it. Dalt Vila is the old walled town, and its fortifications are among the best-preserved Renaissance bastioned defences anywhere in the Mediterranean — built for Philip II in the 1550s against Ottoman and Barbary raiding, angled so that every wall is covered by fire from another. The Phoenicians founded the town around 654 BC and the necropolis at Puig des Molins below it holds thousands of their graves. UNESCO listed the whole thing, the walls, the necropolis and the seagrass, in 1999.
Required Activities
1
of 5
Walk up through the Portal de ses Taules into Dalt Vila and follow the full circuit of Philip II's bastioned walls
2
of 5
Work out the geometry: every stretch of wall is angled so it can be covered by fire from the next bastion along
3
of 5
Go to the Puig des Molins necropolis, one of the largest and best-preserved Phoenician and Punic burial grounds in the world
4
of 5
Find out what else is in the 1999 UNESCO listing — including the Posidonia seagrass meadows in the water between Ibiza and Formentera
5
of 5
Stand on the cathedral terrace at the top and look down over the harbour and out to Formentera
Walk up through the Portal de ses Taules into Dalt Vila and follow the full circuit of Philip II's bastioned walls
Work out the geometry: every stretch of wall is angled so it can be covered by fire from the next bastion along
Go to the Puig des Molins necropolis, one of the largest and best-preserved Phoenician and Punic burial grounds in the world
Find out what else is in the 1999 UNESCO listing — including the Posidonia seagrass meadows in the water between Ibiza and Formentera
Stand on the cathedral terrace at the top and look down over the harbour and out to Formentera
Before you go
Dalt Vila is a steep climb on cobbles. Ibiza town is extremely busy from June to September.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
250 XP
Spain country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
350 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in Spain.
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