San Juan (Sant Joan de Labritja)
The hilly north: villages, terraces and the empty part of Ibiza
Sant Joan de Labritja is Ibiza’s northernmost municipality and its least populated. The village itself is small — a white church, a square, a few streets — but the municipality covers the whole hilly north, with small coves, pine woods and hamlets like Sant Miquel, Sant Vicent and Sant Llorenç. This is the part of the island where you least feel you are walking through a holiday complex.
History
The north was always Ibiza’s poor half: steep slopes, little water, and soil that was only workable if you terraced it. Farmers lived scattered in whitewashed fincas rather than in villages; the villages grew up around the parish churches, which doubled as refuges whenever the coast was unsafe. Those churches — solid, white, with a covered porch — are still the focal points here. In the 1960s and 70s foreigners settled in the abandoned farmhouses of this area, which gave the north the bohemian reputation it still carries. The farming terraces are still there, many of them unworked.
What to do here
- Look at the white parish church of Sant Joan and the little square in front of it; the whole village takes half an hour.
- Go to the Sunday market in Sant Joan, where the north gathers.
- Drive on to Sant Miquel and climb to the church above the village for views over the interior.
- Seek out the small coves: Cala Xarraca, Cala d’en Serra and Portinatx are all in this municipality.
- Walk the old paths between the terraces; the north is the best walking country on Ibiza.
- Drive the mountain road towards Sant Vicent for the views over the north coast.
Facts
- Sant Joan de Labritja is the Catalan name; San Juan Bautista is the Spanish one.
- It is the least densely populated municipality on Ibiza and covers the whole north of the island.
- The whitewashed parish churches of this area also served as refuges when danger came from the sea.
- The terraces on the slopes are centuries-old farm engineering, built because the soil was otherwise unusable.
Good for
Walkers, couples, anyone renting a finca, and anyone who wants the island without the clubs.
Honestly
Without a car you are stuck here: the bus network is thin and taxis are scarce in the evening. Outside high season a fair share of businesses are shut, and the mountain roads are narrow and winding.
