It comes that time of the year when, after a long winter, I wake up one morning and I realize that I’m too out of shape and too ghost-like white and what I need is a trip in a place where I can address these issues. This year I’m more conflicted than ever: will it be sea-side or a mountain location? I already know that if it is to be sea-side I have to stay away from a resort or the risk is that I will end up doing nothing and ultimately go back home feeling like I got nothing out of my time off. If it is to be mountain then I should stay away from crowded places and beaten paths and I want to be able to run a bit. After considering a few options I start doing a bit of research on Sardegna. I’ve already been there a few years ago but I was there for a wedding and the bride made me promise that I would not do anything too dangerous since I was the best man so I limited myself to a lot of fabulous local food and long walks on the beach. This time I’m by myself and I’ll have it my way. I decide that the south-west of the island I where I should go (Cagliari province) and at least from what I can read online that area offers a good range of activities to do be it sea-side or inland.
After a bit of hesitation I decide that I will stay in Santa Margherita di Pula which, in short, is a fraction of the town of Pula. the thing that attracts me to this location is the short distance to Nora (an ancient lost city of mythological origins) and the walking distance to an old Roman road connecting Nora to Bithia (other ancient town located near nowadays Chia). Bookings done, packing done and I’m off. I land in Cagliari in the late afternoon and for now the main target is to find the hotel and get set. I found this little boutique hotel very close to the beach (and to the Roman road, let’s not forget about the Roman road!). It is very cozy and welcoming but I get the sense it is very family and couple oriented… oh well! I’m not going to spend too much time in here and , let’s be honest, I’m the one that eventually will be a bit disruptive.
The next day is all about local exploration, all that can be reached running (10-15 Km). I find the start of the Roman road connecting Nora to Bithia near Pinus Village and start walking towards Chia. The beginning of the road is a well visible trail and runs following the coast line offering incredible views. In some parts small patches of the old stone paving are still visible and I have to say that knowing that it has been there since the 7th century BC it is quite impressive. After not long I walk by Isola Su Cardolinu and from there it is just a few minutes to reach Su Portu beach and Chia’s Tower and Bithia’s acropolis. Here I decide that it is time for a splash in this beautiful sea and I’ll go head with the exploration later on. Marching on I discover that that was just the beginning: Spiaggia Rosa, Spiaggia del Morto, Spiaggia di Campana Pontile, Spiaggia S’ Acqua Durci and finally Spiaggia di Cala Cipolla is all I can take in in one day and they are all equally beautiful and worth visiting. If you are not a keen walker/runner don’t do them all in one go. They are all reachable following the path along the coast (12 km one way) and to me that is worth the effort just because it is stunning but be careful in hot days, if you are not used to such efforts and temperatures it might be a problem.
The next day is a little bit less… inspiring. I spend all morning and good part of the late afternoon to get more info about the inland exploration I want to do in the next days. I have four locations in mind: the WWF oasis of Monte Arcosu, Sella del Diavolo and lastly Is Cioffus gorge. Finding the starting point for the WWF oasis and the Sella del Diavolo trail is relatively easy (relay on geo-coordinates if you have a GPS or ask!) but finding the staring point for the Is Cioffus gorge turns out a bit of an adventure, but let’s start from the beginning.
The WWF oasis of Monte Arcosu is located near Cagliari (~20km) and can only be reached with a private transport. From Cagliari take the S.S.195 heading for Pula and after ~12km turn toward Macchiareddu – CASIC. Here take the Seconda Strada Ovest. Next reference is a small isolated church after which you will find sign-posts for the oasis. The track I want to walk is marked A5 (Sa Rocca Lada) and it is a 6km loop. It starts right at the entrance of the oasis. Be aware that he entry fee is 5 Euro… comments welcome on this but to me depends on what you value; for 5 Euro you can buy an irrelevant frappuccino and pretend you are writing a book sitting in a coffee shop or, as in this case, you can get access to an amazing place kept in very good order. Considering they also take care of a large fallow deer community in my mind it is well worth a donation. The A5 path is very well marked. At the beginning it follows the Is Frociddus valley and crosses the Riu sa Canna a few times before the uphill section starts. During the ascent there are a few observation points till the track reaches a ridge. From here the view extends to Santa Gilla’s lagune (Cagliari’s lagoon). The path now heads down following a steep descent at the end of which I find the fence protecting the fallow deer population. For the rest of the day I indulge on the beach with a couple of cold ones.
The next day I get in the car, direction Cagliari. A couple of days before I wasted so much time getting to the starting point of the Sella del Diavolo due to traffic that, I confess, I was tempted to give up even before getting there. But then, it is like going to the gym: the best days to go are the ones where you start making excuses about why you should not go. If you are staying in Cagliari the start of the Sella del Diavolo trail is easy to reach by car or public transport during weekends and bank holidays (Use 5/11 line of CTM). All you have to do is to find Calamosca beach and, from the beach parking lot, take left near the Calamosca sul Mare Hotel and Restaurant and follow the road till a parking area where the path starts. The hike is only 4 km long but offers great views of Cagliari’s gulf and other nearby beautiful beaches and also gives the opportunity to see the remains of a WW2 fort and the remains of an ancient Roman water cistern. Once at the top of the ridge is possible to enjoy the best views the hike has to offer and heading S-E is possible to reach and visit, with a little scramble, the Peotto tower which is a remain of the Spanish era. To go back to the staring point it is easier to go back to the top of the ridge and head NW where a well visible track leads back to the restaurant. I decide I deserve to enjoy Calamosca beach for the rest of the day and, in the car I also have a pair of shorts and a t-shirt… I could spend the evening in Cagliari and, why not also the night? I’ll think about tomorrow when it comes.
The day after is cloudy even if still warm (about 23 degrees). I leave Cagliari to go back to my hotel and I get there at about 10AM. Will it rain, will it not? it doesn’t matter… completely ignoring the temperature I convince myself that it is the perfect weather to run the walk I did the second day but extending it to Capo Spartivento. If you happen to visit this area Capo Spartivento is a must see, its geographical position allows for incredible views and its vicinity to beaches like Cala Cipolla makes it the perfect center piece for a day at the beach which is not just sunbathing. And if you fancy it, the lights house which was built in 1866 is now a high end boutique hotel. My condition/looks when I got to the light house during my run might have detracted from my credibility as a potential customer and given my decision that “no, I don’t need carry any water with me today… or money for that matter” I decide to turn back a run my way back because , you know.. “If I run 14km without a drop of water, why can’t I run a total of 28km then? Comments, also negative ones, welcome… all I can say is don’t try this at home and… #miscalculation. On the way back I’m blessed with 20 minutes of rain and, yes, rain water counts as drinking water at a certain stage.
lower point, “hard way” car park point at the top of the image
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/search/parcheggio+di+Is+Cioffus/@39.0993227,8.9311633,3685m/data=!3m1!1e3
Early morning next day it is sunny again but the air feels fresher than it did in the past days and I’m going to the Is Cioffus gorge! Now, before things get complicated trying to explain how to get to the start, let me clarify that there are two trails (well, 3 trails but will talk about the 3rd later) to get to the gorge and each one of them starts from a different car park, check the image above and the link for reference. What I call the “easy way” I did not actually walk but from what I researched the starting point is easy to find and the hike is 6km there and back and it is pretty much flat. What I call the “hard way” is the one I challenged myself with and it is a 10km round trip if you decide to go back where you came from or 13km if you decide to walk a loop (which is what I did and what I will talk about). There are a couple of ups and downs and my estimate is that the total vertical ascent is between 400m and 500m.
To get to the start of the “hard way” I drive on the S.S. 195 from Pula in Cagliari’s direction. Arrived at Capoterra I cross the town and at a roundabout, before entering Frutti d’Oro I turn left towards Localita’ Su Spantu (visible on Goole maps) and head towards the Agriturismo “Il Murales” and turn left passing under a motorway bridge under construction. From there on the road is a dirt road and having a car with a good ground clearance is a must. I recommend using the Google Map link below for the rest of the itinerary:
Bragging about it without bragging about it, the link above is your best chance to get there after having with you somebody that knows where to go. Sign that you almost arrived is that you arrive to Localita’ Arcu S’Enna Sa Craba (Get out of the car and walk on the rock plateau in front of you, Cagliari’s lagoon view from here is just something). There the main road is blocked by a barrier and your only option is to turn left on a small descending road (yes, it is bumpy). You will notice a little concrete bridge across the Scillaras canal, leave the car before crossing the bridge.
Car parked, I start walking on the dirt road that starts climbing gently on my right. After two switch-backs there is a tight right bend and there I leave the “road” to take the trail on my left that points towards Mount Tiriaxeddu early recognisable because of its summit made of a red-rock formation. The track is now steeper but it is a comfortable walk under the tick woods of holly oaks. After a few switch backs I reach the other side of the hill and here starts a steep descent broken only by more switch-backs till I’m at the bottom and I enter Bidda Mores valley ad the Bidda mores river that flows at the bottom of it. The path follows the river and starts to gently climbing again till I pass a big monolite and after a few hundred meters I find, on my left, the smaller path that brings to Is Cioffus gorge.
I cross the Bidda Mores river on a small wooden bridge, I suppose that during wetter seasons the reason for a bridge is more evident. Right off the bridge there is a flat clearing and a small hunters’ shed; now the path is quite easy to follow and brings me in the shade of even bigger holly oak trees… just amazing. Now the path disappears and I navigate my way down a rock face (not steep) and at the bottom I cross the Is Cioffus brook. After climbing over a Little Rock formation I’m in another clearing that descends again toward the brook under the ever present holly oak trees. Almost immediately I enter Is Cioffus gorge. If you ever come here you’ll know when you arrive. The brook bed is covered by big rounded rocks and and the vertical walls of the canyon tower over it by over 200 meters in certain points. The gorge is very large at the beginning and some of the walls lean towards the centre giving the sense of being at the entrance of a large cave.
Moving on towards the other end of the gorge the walls come closer and closer to each other and I guess the narrowest point is about 4 meters. There is a bit of still water on the brook bed, I try to imagine what it must be like during rainy period, probably subject to flash floods. To go back I could go back the way I came but, no… of course no. Since I’ve never been here and I don’t necessarily need to know where I’m to know where I’m going (this is the 3rd path I mentioned). I take a path heading Nord towards Su Casteddu with is a rock tower of an incredible red colour. I reach the Arcu de Antoni Sanna pass and I start the descent towards the Scillaras canal which I ascend till I reach the parking spot.
What an amazing hike and was a place! If you have the fortune to visit it I’m sure that, like me, you will be astonished by how wild, peaceful and “immersive” this hike is. I find it to have almost a sacred quality to it, like something that remained unchanged despite the wash of time. It feels like it could have been like this a thousand years ago and hopefully it will stay like this for another thousand years, My suggestion is to prepare as well as you can for it and to attempt if you have good navigational skills (maps of the area available) or if you have enough experience in reading and navigating similar environments. Another alternative is to get in touch with the C.A.I. Cagliari and see if there is anybody keen to guide you.
It is my last day in Sardegna for now. It is a big island and, no doubt, it has much more to offer. I consider this week like a little teaser of more to come.
