Follow us in the Gorropu Canyon with this Sardinia Slow Experience video
Follow us in the Gorropu Canyon, one of the must to do treks in Sardinia, in the middle of the Supramonte mountains, crossing the Gorropu Gorge. The Gorropu Canyon is one of the deepest canyon in Europe, with walls over 500 meters, and is visited by tens of thousands of visitors each year, which is weird, considering that in the old times the popular belief was that the Gorropu Canyon was the devil’s home and a place to avoid.
There are several ways to reach the entrance of the canyon. Usually we choose the easiest one, which begins at the Oddoene Valley by Sa Barva bridge, right outside Dorgali. The hiking trail is easy, but long. It starts at the bridge over the Flumineddu river, where we will leave the van in the parking lot before heading to a 7km long trail, plus other 7km for the return trail. Along the way we will find some natural springs, but we advice participants to bring with them at least a 2 litres bottle of water, as there is a lot to walk; the entire tour takes 7 hours, of which 6 hours walking and 1 hour of rest stop inside the canyon.
There is a second trail to the entrance of canyon, starting at the Genna Silana pass. This second trail is more beautiful and panoramic, but also more difficult. It takes about 1,5 hours of walk before arriving to the entrance of Gorropu. The return trail can be pretty difficult, but in that case it is possible to arrange a return on a jeep. We still prefer the first, longer trail.
The best time to visit Gorropu is springtime, when all flowers in bloom and the entire landscape is green. Early autumn, when the hot summer is over, is also a nice time for the hike. Some people take the hike during summertime, but it is not a good idea because of the very high temperatures.
The Gorropu Canyon is a protected natural reserve and national park, and there is a ticket to pay for admission (5 euros per person). Once inside the canyon you can pick the route that is more suitable to you, which trails marked by 3 different colours: green is the easy one; yellow is medium difficulty; red is just for experts climbers. It takes more or less one hour to visit the entire Gorropu Gorge, but once inside it is possible to stay as long as you want. A curiosity: do you know that inside the Gorropu Canyon grows the “Aquilegia Nuragica”, an endemic plant that lives only in the canyon and it’s not found anywhere else in the world?
Here is a video we shot during one of our Gorropu Canyon Hiking Tours, enjoy it!
Do you want to experience the adventure of the Gorropu Canyon? Check out our Gorropu Canyon Hiking Tour! If you love hiking, check also our Tiscali Tour, and if you want to chill with an aperitif after a day of nature, see our Siniscola Sunset Aperitif Tour. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook for last minute tours and special experiences in Sardinian slow tours.
