Overview of the itinerary
Sentiero Italia runs the length of the island’s eastern side, covering its most important mountains, in 28 stages. Starting from the north: it flanks the Monte Limbara massif, crosses the limestones of Mont’Albo and Tuttavista, skirting the Gulf of Orosei, it crosses the Supramonte, Gennargentu and the Tacchi of Ogliastra and reaches Perdasdefogu. Further south, it passes through Armungia and the Gerrei sub-region. Lastly, it touches on the villages of Burcei and San Gregorio, continuing on the Sette Fratelli massif to the old prisons of Castiadas.
General information on Sentiero Italia (Grand Italian Trail)
Sentiero Italia, or Grand Italian Trail, as also explained on the official website, is a walking route that crosses the whole of Italy, using mainly but not exclusively “registered trails”.
In particular, in Sardinia, not all the stages of the Sentiero Italia of CAI (Italian Alpine Club) are made of trails already included in the registry of the Sardinia Trail Network (RES), either because they have not yet been tested and approved or simply because they cannot be registered as they do not meet the requirements. However, as a whole, the Sentiero Italia is the single longest walking route currently crossing Sardinia from the north (S. Teresa Gallura, stage Z 1) to the south (Castiadas, end of stage Z 28), touching on the most fascinating mountain areas in central-eastern Sardinia: the plateau of Buddusò, Tepilora, the Cedrino river valley, the ancient forests of Montes, Perda Liana and the regional forest of Montarbu, Monte Genis, and lastly the regional forest of Settefratelli (among the many crossed by the various stages of this long hiking itinerary).
Information on this stage of the trail
To reach the starting point, from the accommodation facility – the hotel restaurant Rifugio d’Ogliastra – return to the country church located 800 m away, at the end of the previous stage.
The trail sets off slightly uphill in a south-westerly direction, on a wide, easy dirt track for about 2 km skirting the mountain on your right, then turns left onto an uphill path until it reaches and crosses road SP 23.
Walk to the right of the road, following the CAI signs, paying attention to several intersections before reaching the car park of the wind farm. Here you can admire the artwork by local artist Maria Lai, ‘la cattura dell’ala del vento’, a tribute to the use of renewable energy sources. On the right, beyond a gate that is always open, the path continues among the wind turbines. After about 1.5 km, to your left you will see the summit of Monte Codi which has a military and civilian radar. Continue on a dirt track, used for turbine maintenance, for about 2 km. After passing two gates on your right, making a diversion of about 400 m, you will come to a small, dammed reservoir where you can cool off, especially in the hot Sardinian summer.
Leaving the wind turbine area behind you, continue on for about 100 m alongside the provincial road, then return to the path that will take you down to the valley. The path continues steadily downhill. Shortly before reaching the valley floor, we recommend taking a diversion of about 300 m to the right, to the bank of the stream where stands an impressive thousand-year-old phillyrea tree, with a circumference of over 5 metres (in the Sardinian language, filueverru or arridellu) N39.71043° E9.45934°
Back on the main trail, head downward until you cross a small stream. Here you will find a small gate in the pasture fence (remember to always close gates after passing through). Past the gate, continue on a narrow path with a steady uphill slope, made gentler by a few bends, walking for about 20 minutes.
At the top of the path you will come to a clearing with an interesting archaeological site that is still being explored. Next to the site are three restored pinnetos (shepherds’ huts), which can also be used as camping spots, and several ancient livestock enclosures. From here you can admire the entire valley below, crossed by Rio su Ludu, a tributary of the Rio Flumineddu.
Leaving this site, an uphill dirt track leads to the sheepfold of Costantino Carta, who is to be commended for having restored the old shepherds’ huts, the pinnetos.
Continuing on after about 300 m, you will find another archaeological site with the ruins of several nuraghi, a beautiful sacred well and several circular bases, mostly covered with earth. The trail continues on a dirt road, which in about 2 km arrives in the vicinity near of the sports field (where there is a water fountain), signalling that you are near the end of the stage.
The stage ends 800 m further on in the northern outskirts of the village, at the crossroads leading to the Santa Barbara forest. It is about 800 m from the end of the stage to the village centre.
In Perdasdefogu there are several B&Bs and also a small hotel, grocery shops, etc. Bear in mind that the bars close in the afternoon. The village is small and has a nearby military base.
Notes
There are no drinking water sources along the route of the stage. There are only two water fountains: one at the stage starting point near the small church of San Antonio and the other after the sports field of Perdasdefogu.
