Orosei e del Gennargentu

Looking for the most beautiful national park in Italy?

If you'd love to find natural beauty, marvelous, breathtaking mountain peaks, untouched, unparalleled forest floors and be surrounded by nature's babies, deer, hawk, falcons, foxes, boars, whales and dolphins and adorable seals?

We have the perfect place for you.

click to enlarge

How about a vast area of 74,000 hectares? The white peaks of the Gennargentu Massif and the Supramonte Mountain Range that turn a dazzling red in the summer? If you're looking for sprawling pastures, fantastic forests, deep gorges and steep cliffs tapering off into the abyss, broken by the glorious sea, then look no further than the extraordinary coastlines in Sardinia; the national park of the Gennargentu.

Located on the island of Sardinia - hush, yes Sardina has the best beaches, you don't know the half of what Sardinia has to offer and when we reveal the secret landscape most tourists miss, we'll show you beaches you could never have dreamed of - Sardinan beaches, that are quiet and empty! Yes, such a wonder does exist.

Stretching from towering mountains to the roaring sea, the National Park of the Gulf of Orosei and Gennargentu features panoramic peaks, miles of green pastures, plateaus and canyons, centuries-old forests as full of history as they are beauty and we couldn't possibly forget the sheer cliffs overlooking crystal clear waters, caves and beaches.

In 1998, Italy made the area into a protected national park, covering 74 thousand hectares spanning across 27 towns and villages in Barbagie, Mandrolisai and Ogliastra.

Let us paint you a picture.

The tall peaks are surrounded by thick forests. The area is perfect for a mountain trek or a great bike ride. Feast your eyes on strawberry trees, junipers and mastics, revel in the scented fragrance of helichrysum, rosemary and aromatic shrubs. If you're looking, you will find amphibians, insects and rare reptiles all around you/ papilio hospiton butterfly. Deer patrol softly through the trails. Wild boars roam everywhere, and you're never too far from a weasel, wild cats, scampering little dormice, hares and foxes. Over your heads, the golden eagle and the peregrine falcon soar past, climbing the peaks and conquering the skies in the blink of an eye while the Eleonora's falcon flies around the sheer cliffs overlooking the sea.

If you want to see nature in it's raw and powerful form with all the glory and splendour, you've come to the right place. If you appreciate birds, you won't know where to look next with the goshawk, the spotted woodpecker, the buzzard and the Eurasian sparrowhawk all commonly found in the area.

Don't miss the karst spring of Su Gologone, the canyon of Su Gorropu, where rock face climbs 450 metres high above you. Make sure to visit the huge sinkhole of Su Suercone, which centuries-old yew trees flourish. Also to be explored and delighted in are the caves of Su Bentu and Sa Oche, Perda 'e Liana, Perda Longa, Su Sterru, Su Texile and the Nuragic village of Tiscali.

Follow the cliffs down to the glorious coastline, doted with so many beautiful coves and caverns. Whales and dolphins frolic in the gulf. Sardinia is famous for her beaches, the glorious sand, the water at the perfect temperature with the most beautiful creatures swimming around you, whales, dolphins and seals, but Sardinia has so much more to offer.

Sardinia has so much beauty and territory that will knock your socks off. Leave the tourist rabble behind and climb the expanse of the Supramonte Mountain Range, with alternating pointed peaks, canyons, sinkholes and crevasses covered by dense vegetation: here the sense of solitude is almost overwhelming. And when you traverse the cliffs and forests on the other side of the peaks, you will find beautiful beaches that are secluded and unsullied by hoardes of tourists.

Any one of the villages will offer you tasteful, authentic food and a chance to see the locals and make some connections that are more than the street food vendor in a town square in Milan.

We can't finish off before boasting about the Su Gorropu Canyon. Move over Arizona, Italy has her own grand canyon!