Cala Bóta, Nude beach in Manacor, Spain
Cala Bóta is a rocky inlet on the Manacor coast, about 200 metres long and 50 to 200 metres wide, opening northwest between Punta de s'Escull and the Penyes Altes de s'Hospitalet. Its 30-metre beach, up to 18 metres wide, is made of pebbles mixed with small and larger stones, framed by rock and a few pines.
A 1962 plan to include Cala Bóta and the coves to its northeast in the built-up area of Cales de Mallorca was never carried out. Only an access road was partly built, and it survives as the unsurfaced track to the cove. The bay and its hinterland, the Marina de s'Hospitalet, lie in the 6.27 km² Àrea natural d'especial interès of the Cales Verges de Manacor, protected from construction.
The name Cala Bóta means "barrel cove" in Mallorcan Catalan. The cove is visited mainly by residents of Cales de Mallorca, just over a kilometre away, and by divers; a 1962 plan to fold it into the Cales de Mallorca settlement was never carried out, so only a partly finished track remains.
From the MA-4014 road towards Cales de Mallorca, turn off at the Regueró de Cala Bóta underpass; behind a gate a broad unpaved track leads through the protected area, and side paths branch off to the cove, about 1.5 km from the gate. A narrow coastal path also runs northeast from Cales de Mallorca. There are no facilities, so bring water and wear sturdy shoes.
The Regueró de Cala Bóta is a torrent that carries water only after heavy rain, rising about 300 metres south-east of the ruins of the prehistoric village of S'Hospitalet Vell. A brackish pool can persist at its mouth long after the rain stops, and 50 metres from the shore, above the pool, is an artificial cave that may have served as a prehistoric burial place.
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