Bunyola is a very traditional village visibly untouched by tourism. The town is located on the south edge of the Sierra de Tramuntana Mountain range and on the route of the Palma to Soller train, a living antique which has been providing a train service to Palma for around 90 years. Like the vintage train, built of mahogany with well worn and shined brass, the village station is a delight to visit. Several times a day the train stops at Bunyola station en-route to Soller village. Passengers on the train will include residents travelling to and from their employment in Palma and the eager tourists enjoying this truly beautiful scenic ride.
By road Bunyola is 14 km north of Palma and less than 2 km off the main road, 2 minutes before entering the Palma / Soller  tunnel.   Close by are the exquisite gardens of Alfabia, the premier attraction of the area and former residence of an important Muslim during the Moor’s occupation of Mallorca. The municipal area of Bunyola enjoyed a reasonable degree of prosperity and evidence is still there to see in the village streets and in particular the estates and former manor houses of Sa Font Seca, Biniforani and S’Algueria.  During 2008 First Mallorca sold one of the village’s most attractive houses. Perched above the village in a most pleasurable sub-tropical environment sits a homely property designed by a student of the Catalonia born architect Antoni Gaudi. The richness of its weathered exterior features,  beautifully carved stone balustrades and curving Italian style exterior stairway, is pure cultural artistry.
There are various theories to the origin of the village’s name, one being ”bujola”, the Arabic translation of “small vineyard” a connection to the local wine growing.   Bunyola’s ancient tradition of its weekly fruit and local produce market still takes place in the town’s main square each Saturday morning from 8 am and there are two main annual fiestas. The first during early August, a celebration of “Our Lady of Les Neus” and on the 21st  of September the fiesta of Sant Mateu, the town’s patron saint. The village church houses the much-cherished 14th century image of the Virgin.

For information on the nearby village of Orient, please read our article here.

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