Immense landscapes, which are wonderful and never the same, like an enormous mosaic: inaccessible peaks, green pastures, plateaus, canyons, centuries-old forests, sheer cliffs overlooking crystal clear waters, caves and beaches. From the mountain to the sea: the National Park of the Gulf of Orosei and Gennargentu is one of the most spectacular destinations in Sardinia, with itineraries ideal for trekking and mountain bike excursions. The protected area, established in 1998, includes 74 thousand hectares in the territories of 27 towns and villages in Barbagie, Mandrolisai and Ogliastra.
In the Gennargentu mountain range, Punta Lamarmora (1834 metres) and Bruncu Spina (1829) stand out and are peaks from which you will have a 360 degree view of the entire Island. The massif is linked to limestone and dolomite rock plateaus, the supramontes of Orgosolo and Oliena, with the valley of Lanaittu and Monte Corrasi. Up to a height of 1200 metres, the holm oak is predominant, while higher up there are downy oaks and oaks. Very tall holly trees also grow on the slopes. Don’t miss the forests of Uatzo, Montarbu and Montes, where there is the centuries-old holm oak forest of Sas Baddes. All around, there are expanses of Mediterranean scrub: strawberry trees, junipers and mastics, accompanied by the fragrance of helichrysum, rosemary and aromatic shrubs. Amphibians, insects and rare reptiles live here: the salamander (in the caves) and the papilio hospiton butterfly. The most impervious zones are the habitat of the mouflon, next to which, the deer and the fallow deer have 'returned'. Wild boars can be found everywhere, accompanied by the weasel, the wild cat, the dormouse, the hare, the marten and the fox. The golden eagle and the peregrine falcon fly over the higher crests, while the Eleonora's falcon flies around the sheer cliffs overlooking the sea. The goshawk, the spotted woodpecker, the buzzard and the Eurasian sparrowhawk are common here.
Other places to add to the list of wonders to be visited include the karst spring of Su Gologone, the canyon of Su Gorropu, with rock faces up to 450 metres high, the huge sinkhole of Su Suercone, a ponor in which there are centuries-old yew trees, the caves of Su Bentu and Sa Oche, Perda 'e Liana, Perda Longa, Su Sterru, Su Texile and the Nuragic village of Tiscali.
The elevations slope down to the sea on one of the most enchanting stretches of coast in the Mediterranean: 40 kilometres from Cala Gonone (Dorgali) to Santa Maria Navarrese (Baunei) with spectacular sheer rock faces in which caves open up, like that of Bue Marino, codule gleaming with oleanders and charming little coves: Fuili, Luna, Sisine, Biriola, Mariolu and Goloritzè. Whales and dolphins swim in the gulf, which was once the kingdom of the Mediterranean monk seal.
