Between sea and mountains, an experience to discover authentic Sardinia, made of villages, nature and timeless stories, where time slows down and emotions remain.
We come to Ogliastra as you enter a whispered tale, of those who are in no hurry to reveal themselves. It is a Sardinia that welcomes us with slow pace, made of silences full and deep looks, where the turquoise sea seems to dialogue with ancient, severe and maternal mountains at the same time. Here, far from the most predictable spotlights, we immediately feel that we are not simple visitors: we are part of a wider rhythm, a story that continues to breathe.
Our journey takes shape all'Arbatax Park Resort & Spa, immersed in a landscape that smells of myrtle and salsedine. From this natural refuge, where elegance meets respect for the earth, we leave every day as gentle explorers, ready to let us be surprised. There is no rush, there is no list to appear: there is only an invitation to live.
Index of Article
The ancient villages of Ogliastra
We enter the hinterland and time suddenly seems to crack. Gairo Vecchio appears before us as an untouched memory. We walk between stone houses consumed by the wind, doors buried on empty rooms, streets where the steps sound like a distant echo. The village, abandoned after the great flood of the Fifties, is not a dead place: it is a living memory. On the walls we see ancient family coats of arms, discreet signs of a community that, even if forced to leave, never really left this place. Here silence does not weigh, wraps.
Then the landscape opens, it becomes brighter. Tortolì welcomes us with a measured vitality, elegant. We walk without destination between artisan shops and small cafes, letting ourselves be guided by the scents: carasau bread that breaks with a dry sound, cheese with a decided taste, coffee that knows about meeting. The sea is always close, a constant presence. It takes a few minutes to find us in front of intimate coves, where the water takes unreal nuances and the sun seems to stop longer.
But it is pushing us even further than we really understand the soul of the Ogliastra. Baunei appears to us suspended between heaven and seaoverlooking one of the most spectacular stretches of the Gulf of Orosei. Here nature is not background, it is the absolute protagonist. We walk through paths that smell of Mediterranean maquis, we listen to the chirping of the cicadas and the wind that creeps through the rocks. Cala Goloritzé leaves us speechless: the dazzling white of the stone, the natural arch carved by time, the pinnacle that rises as a primordial sculpture. It is a place that is not only observed, it is contemplated. And then Cala Mariolu, Cala Sisine, Cala Luna: each with a different character, each able to give us a unique feeling, as chapters of the same novel.
Adventure on the Blue Forest
For those who love to test themselves, The Blue Wild It is not only a trekking: it is a rite of passage. Over forty kilometres of sea and rock, where every effort is rewarded by landscapes that seem to belong to another dimension. We taste the spirit, aware that even if we walk through a stretch it means getting in tune with a pure, demanding and generous nature.
Ulassai welcomes us in a different way, more intimate. Surrounded by limestone heels, imposing and silent, it is a place where art has chosen to live permanently. This is all about Maria Lai, her poetic and revolutionary vision. Rethink the gesture of "Legarsi alla montagna"When a whole country joined a blue ribbon, turning a legend into a collective act of identity. Visiting the Art Station, derived from the ancient railway station, we clearly perceive how in this village the boundary between daily life and artistic creation is subtle, almost nonexistent.
Nature, even here, does not stop surprising us. Let's go down Cave on Marmuri, where the immense salts and millenary formations tell a time that goes beyond the human. When the rains arrive, the waterfalls of Lequarci transform the rocky walls into sparkling water veils, an ephemeral and powerful spectacle. And everywhere, between paths and gatherings, traces of ancient civilizations emerge: nuraghi, domus de janas, tombs of the Giants. It is as if the earth itself wanted to remind us how many stories it holds.
The hospitality of the Arbatax Park Resort & Spa
In Ogliastra we learn to slow down. Every meeting with the inhabitants becomes a shared tale, every country party an open door to traditions that have never been interrupted. There is a deep sense of continuity, of silent pride, which accompanies us everywhere.
In the evening, on the return,Arbatax Park Resort & Spa welcomes us on a wild peninsula of more than sixty hectares, embraced by the most transparent Mediterranean, on which idyllic coves face: Le Palme, Cala Moresca, Arenas, Baia dei Cottage. Awarded as Best Eco Resort in the World from 2019 to 2026, is the only resort in the world immersed in a true protected nature park, the Bellavista, where we walk through scented paths of Mediterranean scrub, we meet autochthonous animals in freedom and we let ourselves be enchanted by Garden of Wonders, an award-winning sensory space.
The variety of accommodation, from Cottages to Borgo Cala Moresca to Suites del Mare, is designed to meet the different needs of the guests, while the Bellavista SPA, with its wide spaces dedicated to wellness, becomes the place where to really slow down: water, steam, silences and regenerating treatments that complete an experience of deep harmony with nature.
