Monte Taro

Menorca's highest mountain is crowned by a convent which has become an important centre of pilgrimage. Its name almost certainly derives from aitor, Arabic for 'highest mountain', despite the local legend about a bull (toro in Spanish) who discovered a statue of the Virgin in a cleft in the rock.

Get there by driving or walking the twisting 3km road from Es Mercadal; an alternative approach on foot is to follow the track between two white posts at the entrance to San Carlos farm, 1 km out of Es Mercadal on the Cami d'en Kane. The simple courtyard is peaceful and attractive, an old well, an olive tree, a 16th-century stone tower, a low whitewashed refectory. You enter the church through a pretty porch with several arches and dozens of potted plants. Even when you get inside the 17th-century Renaissance church, there is little adornment a plain white dome, tapestries on the walls, a 1943 altarpiece with a statue of the Virgin with the legendary bull at her feet. This is La Verge del Toro, the chief focus of pilgrimage. Mass is said here at 11AM each Sunday and the bishop holds a service each May to bless the island's fields.

From the terrace and car park there are sea views on all four sides. Look down from the terrace over neat vegetable and herb gardens which are tended by the community of nuns who still live on Monte Toro