Walking in Italy

Holiday

 Highlights

The Montiferru Mountain Range

Sardinian scenery including the Sinis wetlands and the sea cliffs of Su Tingiosu

Romantic Mediterranean trails

Bird watching in Spring

A SAUNTER IN SARDINIA

Walking in Sardinia

This tour is designed for the more discerning walker. It takes you from the black mountains of Montiferru to the Sinis wetlands and the sea. Montiferru is a basaltic area famous for the green forests and the local red beef celebrated by the Slow Food Movement. Sinis is a natural reserve home to thousands of pink flamingos and a wealth of other birdlife. They are preserved through the remarkable local low impact fishing activities in the environment. We have also found some very charming accommodation to make this tour memorable.

Sardinia is an inspirational island, full of natural beauty and a mixture of Italian and Spanish cultures. This is another mountain to sea walk which like our others, in Corsica, Mallorca and Catalunya, allow you to discover multi faceted dimensions of the places that you visit. The holiday starts from our hotel in Santulussurgiu, in the Montiferru Mountains. Here you will meet with our local representative who will explain the route, map and route notes. The route descends from this village to Santa Caterina di Pittinuri, located right by the sea, crossing oak and olive forests, groves and quiet pastures as you go. From here after the village of S’Archittu (which owes its name to the popular natural arch along the nearby coast), we enter the vast forest of ‘Is Arenas,’ whose pine trees protect the area from the sand dune erosion from the coast. At the end of the forest, we find the ‘Is Benas’ lagoon home to large colonies of Grey Herons and pink Flamingos. A beautiful walk on a track above the cliffs leads us to the beach of ‘Su Pallosu’.
The next day we walk along the cliffs of ‘Capo Mannu’, past the lighthouse and the ancient Spanish watchtowers. Then stroll into Putzu Idu, a village located on a stretch of coast often visited by the strong Mistral wind which make it a popular spot for sailing and surfing, we return to our hotel in Su Pallosu. The following day starts with a walk on the amazing limestone cliffs at ‘Su Tingiosu’. There is plenty of birdlife in the spring especially where the cliffs end at the beautiful quartz beaches of ‘Is Aruttas’ and ‘Mari Ermi’ whose sand is made of little grains of quartz quite similar to rice seeds. To end the day you move inland, crossing artichoke and wheat fields to arrive in San Salvatore Sinis, famous for its church erected over an hypogeum (an ancient subterranean structure).
From San Salvatore we take a pleasant path to Cabras, the main centre in the Sinis. During the itinerary you walk along artichoke fields, Vernaccia (white wine) vineyards, olive groves and the Cabras Lagoon, the largest in the area, famous for the grey mullets and above all its ‘Bottarga’, the cured mullet roe. Our final day is a loop from Cabras and if you are passionate about birdwatching, today is your day! We’ll cross the ‘Pauli ‘e Sali’ swamp, a protected area where an immense number of birds (some are very rare) usually nest. Sheltered by the bank grasses and canes you can take beautiful pictures without disturbing them. Finally we go back to the hotel, walking along the lagoon shores.

Inn to Inn 8 days	Click here detailed dossier
Duration: 7 nights/8 days Tour Code: JSD Grade: Easy-moderate (with one challenging  day) 4 days easy, 1 moderate, 1 challenging. Day Stages: Min 10km, max 22km.
SELF-GUIDED Dates 2010	Click here for latest SELF-GUIDED prices
Any day, March - June & September - November

Accommodation

7 nights/8 days - Night 1 in Santulussurgiu we stay in a small Albergo pension. Night 2. Our hotel is high on a cliff with a pool. It is a very quiet area and the hotel food is excellent. Nights 3 & 4 will be spent at an interesting family hotel situated on the Capo Mannu, on the stunning northern tip of the Sinis Peninsula, right by the white sands and turquoise sea. Night 5 is in San Salvatore Sinis where our hotel’s ‘U’ shaped layout resembles a Spanish hacienda with rooms surrounding a garden in the central courtyard. There are even two tennis courts. Nights 6 &7 in the village of Cabras in the Sinis wetlands, our hotel has been redecorated in the traditional style and the owners also run the nearby restaurant which is renowned among locals for its genuine Sardinian cuisine.

Sherpa Notes