Access 

This magnificent tour is partly on an asphalt road and partly on a dirt track: the use of mountain bikes is certainly the best means of appreciating it. From the village of Desulo you start to climb the SP7 in the direction of Fonni. The tough climb is about 7 km long and many prefer to reach the mountain pass by car, starting the cycle ride directly from Tascusì. Just as you reach the pass from the climb, you turn right, downhill on a asphalt and scenic road, with an increasingly uneven surface. After 5.6 km you arrive at Arcu Guddetorgiu and here you go left, downhill, following only at this fork the signs for the Girgini agriturismo. 

La sterrata -The dirt track 

Immediately below the fork you meet another one where you go right, then left, leaving the agriturismo on the opposite side. Immediately a wide, well-maintained road begins, winding its way through woodland, heather groves and monumental downy oaks in a wide and majestic environment. The asphalt gives way to a dirt road immediately after a bridge, The asphalt gives way to dirt road immediately after a bridge, as the route continues on a slight incline or uphill. You pass a building belonging to Agenzia Forestas, which look after the forest, often encountering grazing cows. 

Girgini 

At a sudden turn in the road, one can distinguish the unmistakable pyramidal shape of Su Toni de Girgini. The term 'Toni' indicates an isolated limestone elevation, surrounded only by different rocks: in this area in addition to the main one, you encounter that of Genna Eragas, which you can reach by continuing to cycle to the right at the first crossroads. Girgini has been a popular area since ancient times, as revealed by a giants' tomb and the presence of the remains of numerous villages. You can climb to the limestone peak by following a footpath along the ridge, starting right from the clearing where you arrived. From the summit the vast panorama sweeps across the majesty of the Gennargentu mountain range, which encircles the visitor with its vast ridges. You return to Desulo by the road followed on the outward journey.

Access 

Depart from the centre of Gadoni along the SP2 in the direction of Seulo, then turning right onto the tarmac road in the direction of Funtana Raminosa. This beautiful road partly follows the miners' old route and runs alongside the allotments and orchards that they tended everyday, on their way to the mine, as they left the village. You gradually gain altitude, with increasingly broader views of the Flumendosa valleys, then you approach the buildings of the abandoned mine that occupies the Riu Saraxinus valley. The mining complex can be visited (www.visitgadoni.info) and a visit is highly recommended. Continue uphill for a few more kilometres until it ends, turning left and following the signs for Foresta Corongia on a partially unsurfaced road. When the road flattens out, you reach the Bauzzoni picnic area, where you leave the car. 

Su Campalini 

Continue on a dirt road on foot, ignoring some minor detours and turning left at the only obvious fork. Just below the road, reachable with some difficulty and unmarked, are the caves of Grutas de Perdu, with a scenic waterfall descending from the vault. The road you follow is now level, beneath a beautiful woodland area where you can identify the circular clearings, devoid of vegetation, where the charcoal burners built their threshing floors for the production of charcoal. Halfway along the long straight stretch, you come to a wooden signpost indicating Su Campalini: you leave the main dirt road and enter the woods, reaching the vertiginous edge of the Lartinatzu walls: here Foresta Corongia precipitates towards the Flumendosa riverbed and here stands a slender and bold rocky pinnacle, almost a bell tower, as its name in Sardinian seems to suggest.

Is Breccas 

After a long panaoramic rest andbreak, you return to the dirt road continuing in a southerly direction until you come to a large fork in the road: Here you turn right, uphill, past a gate and continue on the main road. Soon the road becomes flat again, on clay soil and begins to skirt some unique isolated rock towers that become more and more numerous, until they form a veritable labyrinth of walls, caves, crevices and diaclasas. The area is known as Is Breccas and was the kingdom of shepherds and the bandit Torracorti, who lived over a century ago. 

Su Pinneddu 

Exploring the labyrinth of Is Breccas is worth every minute spent and various floristic endemisms can be recognised in the walls, as you walk along the slender paths that follow the audacious conformations of the rock. You then continue along a dirt road until it emerges from the forest: here, on the right, stands an isolated tower known as Su Pinneddu. The road joins a main dirt track which you follow to the right, beginning to descend and reaching, after a long stretch in the forest, the first fork encountered on the way. Here you turn left, shortly reaching the Bauzzoni area and the car.

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

Baccu Malu is one of the peaks of the Sette Fratelli (Seven Brothers) massif, an imposing granite range in the south-eastern tip of Sardinia. The last stage in Sardinia of the ‘Sentiero Italia’ (Grand Italian Trail) developed by CAI (Italian Alpine Club) is fairly easy, also because it is mainly downhill through the Monte Arbu forest and then uphill to Bruncu su Adulu, from where you will enjoy a splendid view of the end point. 

The route ends near the old farming penal colony of Castiadas, on the coastal plain, established in the 19th century and closed in the 1950s. Today the old prison buildings can be visited with an interesting museum itinerary.

Access 

From the inhabited centre of Gavoi, take the SS 128 towards Ovodda, downhill, until you reach the signs for the Sa Valasa Hotel-Restaurant on the right. You are now on the shores of the beautiful Lake Gusana, the vast reservoir created for energy production and surrounded by dense woods. On the left-hand side of the road, just beyond the turn off for the Hotel where you can leave your car, you come to an uphill dirt road. 

S’Iscrithola 

Take the dirt track that gains height for a few dozen metres, then continue on the flat illuminated ridge covered with Mediterranean scrub. The road is extraordinarily panoramic and it is possible to admire a large portion of the lake, with the characteristic contrasts between the colours of the water and the surrounding woods that confers its beauty. The dirt road proceeds bending slightly to the left and gradually plunges into a forest of cork trees and evolved Mediterranean scrub, coming to a fork where you continue straight ahead. Some tens of meters apart, slightly downhill, are some granite boulders that you will encounter: you are in the locality of Iscrithola and here you find a domus de Janas necropolis with five tombs, excavated directly into the boulders, while a large cavern in a larger boulder shows a paved floor and signs of long anthropogenic presence 

Il lago

Continue for a short distance, ignoring some minor detours to the left and then taking a right at an obvious fork. You are now almost back at lake and proceed in a south-easterly direction, still keeping to the main road. After passing a small building, you return to the SS 128 via a gate that must be closed again. Here you could return to Sa Valasa, however you can continue to the left, over the bridge, after which you go down, along an recognisable dirt road in the direction of the lake, on the right. Here begins a splendid path that runs alongside the lake, always shaded by the forest, following the gentle contours of the banks and with a few slopes. Occasionally, you will come across a few areas equipped for resting with wooden benches and tables. The last section of the route bypasses the Hotel Taloro accommodation facility, beyond which a short dirt road leads back to the SS 128, through which it is possible to easily return to Sa Valasa and Gavoi. For those who wish to extend the excursion, it is possible, from the Hotel Taloro, to cross the road and make a large loop along the Riu Perdas Fittas, in the Aratu valley, where a series of dirt roads lead to the river and some menhirs still standing vertically.

Access 

Although the municipal park of Puddis is owned by the Municipality of Lodine, it belongs territorially to the Municipality of Gavoi, but the strong bond of the Lodinese community with this mountain is also due to its proximity, to the small mountain centre of Gavoi. You therefore set off on foot from the SP30, which is also the main road, spotting the signs for the Puddis Municipal Park that lead to the slightly downhill Via IV Novembre. 

The Natural Spring 

After a short stretch, turn right, quickly reaching the natural spring of S’Antana 'e Bidda, located slightly below street level and always a fresh, pleasant ambience. With the spring situated behind your shoulder, begin to climb gradually onto a rolling road, flanked by dry stone walls, surrounded by mature and sparse downy oaks, in the distinctive environment of the Barbagia di Ollolai. The road goes on straight and after the first stretch it flattens out, remaining cemented up to a large clearing, where the paved section ends. Slightly to the left, in respect to the direction of arriving, there is located a gate that must be closed, whilst a wooden sign indicates that you have arrived at the park of Puddis. 

Puddis 

One then enters the large tancato, aiming for a dirt road on the left. It would also be possible to visit the chestnut grove, located at a lower altitude, which is currently being coppiced by the local government. Having taken the dirt road, you start climbing slightly, flanked by a wood of rather young downy oaks, interspersed with dense heather. The profile of a large antenna that acts as a television repeater stands out over the area. The road continues in a south westerly direction and then bends sharply to the right in the direction of the antenna. On the left here is a narrow path that descends slightly, which heads towards a large clearing overlooked and dominated by some beautifully shaped granite rocks, decorated with beautiful tafonate. 

Lake view 

One cautiously climbs up the rocks, to discover a panorama of extraordinary vastness. At the foot of the peak, the valley of Gusana opens up, with its mountain lake surrounded by woods taking centre stage. Gennargentu and Supramonte, in the background, crown with their mountainous silhouettes a maze of wooded valleys, undulating ridges, broken by granite peaks, distant mountain villages or deep gorges. Near the cliff, the houses of Gavoi and the peaks of San Basilio conclude this extraordinary view of this corner of Sardinia. Once the visit is complete, you return to the village by the road you followed on the outward journey.