"Arrive on the sun-bleached shores of Menorca after a spell on Mallorca or Ibiza and notice the drop in volume – here it's more birdsong than Pete Tong. The easternmost Balearic island moves to its own mellow beat. Its twinset of sea-splashed cities, Anglo-Spanish Maó and medina-like Ciutadella, are delightfully low-key, and the white-sand bays that stud its 216km coastline are among the loveliest in the Med. Inland, criss-crossing its fields and rolling hills are an estimated 70,000km of dry-stone walls" (Lonely Planet guide).
In 1993 UNESCO declared the island of Menorca Biosphere Reserve. This declaration has been conferred on 411 places on the planet where there exists an important natural and cultural heritage and where society has accepted an economic development compatible with the conservation of nature. A reserve of the Biosphere is an agreement of man with his natural surroundings.
UNESCO considered Menorca worthy of this declaration for the diversity of its Mediterranean landscape and the species of animals and plants found exclusively on The island, some of which are in danger of extinction. Also valued is the traditional rural countryside present over a large part of the island and highly appreciated for the beauty of the scenery. The existence of an important archaeological and ethnological heritage was another important factor.