Meet Jörn von Grabe, Walking Mallorca Mindset

There are two ways to experience Mallorca: fast — chasing elevation, distance, performance. Or slowly — attentive to light, stone, wind, and silence.

When Jörn first arrived on the island in 1993, he came as an ambitious young triathlete determined to turn professional. Mallorca was a training ground, a landscape to conquer. But life had other plans. Severe injuries ended that path — and with it, his first chapter with the island.

Years later, he returned. Not to compete. Not to win. But to walk.
Today, the Munich-based psychologist and founder of Mallorca-Touren sees the island differently. And perhaps more clearly.

Back then, Mallorca was a training ground. I was young, ambitious, and focused on becoming a professional athlete. The island meant performance — long sessions, discipline, pushing limits. I saw it through the lens of competition.

It was a turning point in my life. Severe injuries and surgery ended my athletic ambitions. For a while, Mallorca disappeared from my horizon completely. I needed distance — from the island and from that version of myself.

You returned in 2005. What felt different?

Everything. I came back as a cyclist, but without obsession. I had missed the island. The riding became slower, more appreciative. I wasn’t trying to conquer anything anymore. I started noticing the landscape instead of measuring it.

And then hiking entered your life.

Yes. Around 2012, after finishing my PhD in Munich, I bought myself a camera and began walking — especially in the Tramuntana. That changed everything.

Hiking and photographing the mountains brought me closer to the island than speed ever could. Light, silence, stone, wind — the details became the experience. When you walk, you don’t pass through a landscape. You enter it.

I often say: Mallorca is not a party island with a few beautiful corners. It is a profoundly beautiful island with a few party corners.

The Tramuntana, especially, has a quiet dignity. You just have to slow down enough to notice it.

As a psychologist, do you see a connection between hiking and mental wellbeing?

Very much so. Modern life is overstimulated. We are constantly exposed to noise, speed, and information. Independent hiking is not about performance or showing where you’ve been. It’s about presence.

Walking in the mountains restores balance in a very physical, simple way. Your body moves. Your breath settles. Your senses recalibrate. It’s clarity through movement.

Mallorca-Touren began from personal frustration rather than a business plan. Tell us about that.

It really did. I struggled with unclear guidebooks, confusing parking descriptions, and even GPS tracks that led straight over cliffs. I wanted something reliable — first for myself.

So I began preparing routes properly: combining detailed maps, precise tracks, realistic timing, and weather awareness. Over time, that collection grew into a platform.

What, in your view, makes a hike truly meaningful?

Good preparation is necessary — but not sufficient. Safety and structure matter. But what truly matters is when someone comes back and says: “That experience moved me.”

That’s when you know it wasn’t just a route. It was something deeper.