BEYOND THE SEA

The pinnacles and limestone cliffs of Sardinia’s Cala Goloritzé overlook the astonishing turquoise Tyrrhenian Sea. But coastal sights such as these are only part of the story on the eastern side of this Italian island, whose near impregnable interior is a place of untouched beauty and resilience

- FRANCESCO LASTRUCCI

The high plateau of the Supramonte is furrowed by a network of paths stretching from the mountains to the sea. Villages, churches and neolithic sites are hidden between canyons, caves and cliffs that stand as a challenge to climbers.

Beneath those rocks, fresh water makes its way through an even more intricate karst system, revealing itself at points coming up to the surface, such as the spring of Su Gologone with its crystalclear pools below an old chapel (pictured right), on its meandering route to the sea.

Journeys above and below the surface both culminate at the immaculate coves of the Gulf of Orosei. For more than 20 miles south of the beach at Cala Fuili (above), where the road from Cala Gonone town ends, is a steep coast with no settlements along it. The only way to reach those coves from the landward side is to follow the codule (torrents), walking along deep canyons. This is one of the Mediterranean’s wildest and most evocative stretches.

The SS125 road, which runs inland parallel to the Gulf of Orosei, is the starting point for the area’s most enticing walks. As the paths descend from the plateaus to the canyons, the ancient holm oaks and yew trees give way to gnarled, centuryold junipers and Mediterranean scrub, including vividly coloured oleander. The environment is rich in animal and plant life including several endemic species, skillfully depicted in the murals of artist Bruno Pisu on the walls of the base camp for walks into Gorropu canyon.