Hiking Trails

Start your trek from the square of San Pantaleo “the artists village”, and hike over a oak forest where you will soon reach an old stazzu, at the foot of San Pantaleo granite mountains, huge granite rocks modeled as they are by centuries of strong winds. You will then follow an easy trail but when you gradually trek up the hill it becomes more challenging.

This area is reach of large and small rocky coves, called in the local dialect “Li Conchi”, used as temporary shelters by shepherds and hunters. The trail climbs through oak forests and the dense mediterranean vegetation featured manly by junipers, broom and myrtle and leads us to the hillside of Punta Cugnana. An amazing place which offers a delightful panoramic view of Tavolara, Capo Figari, Costa Smeralda and La Maddalena Archipelago!

On our way back, for those who still has energy, there is the possibility to trek up the San Pantaleo rocks, a short challenging trail, about 2 km, with a difference in height of 250 meters.

Trip length: 8,5 / 10,5 km
Walking time: 3,5 - 4,5 hours
Maximum altitude: 560 metres
Total ascent: 400 / 650 metres
Route type: dirt road - trail - rock
Level of difficulty: easy/moderate
Highlights: panorama
More info: long trousers suggested

For more information, please visit this website.

An excursion along the trails of the Forest Rangers, up to the Casteddu lookout (742 mters) from which one can see the Costa Smeralda, the gulf of Olbia, the center of Sardinia, the island of Tavolara, the archipelago of La Maddalena and, in good weather, even Corsica.

In the spring one can pick cherries and in the autumn the fruits of the strawberry trees (corbezzoli, a local tree).
Turtles and Sardinian partridges are often spotted.
For lunch you can stop at one of the picnic areas, or near a granitic spring.

For more information, visit this website.

Capo Testa is a promontory connected to Sardinia by an isthmus flanked by two beautiful beaches (one of which houses some Roman columns found in the sea).
From the isthmus the land opens out to a landscape of valleys and coves nestled among granite outcrops of amazing variety. Known for the rocky Valle della Luna, where some hippies still live, Capo Testa was exploited in Roman times for the quarrying of granite.

There are a few foot trails, pleasant for walking among rocks and Mediterranean vegetation.
One can often see “marginata” turtles, typical of the area. These were introduced in ancient times as a local food source.
Capo Testa is ideal for snorkeling and scrambling.

For more information, visit this website.

Speaking of mountains rising directly out of the sea mention must be made of Isola Tavolara, a 5km long and 1km wide island of the east coast of Sardinia. Its faces rise vertically out of the sea culminating in a 564m high highpoint. Geologically it is closely related to high Supramonte and Monte Albo, in fact having formed one large area in former ages. The regions drifted apart, however and today more than 50km separate them.

Isola Tavolara is (or was) Europe's smallest kingdom - in 1838 it was granted sovereignity by the then Sardinian King Charles Albert. The monarchy was revoked for a short period by the end of the 19th century but since then it has been the official form of government of the island. King Carlo II "rules" a handful of permanent residents, but generally the island is represented by the Italian republic.

For more information, visit this website.