# Barbagia Sardinia's mountainous interior: the murals of Orgosolo, the mamuthones of Mamoiada, Tiscali, the Su Gologone spring and Fonni, two hours from Olbia. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/sardinia/barbagia · Revisado: 2026-11-13 ## What is the Barbagia? It's the mountainous heart of Sardinia, around Nuoro and the Gennargentu: shepherd villages on the slopes, granite and limestone ranges, holm oak woods and very little coast. Today it's the Sardinia that doesn't appear in the photos of coves: that of pecorino, Cannonau, spit-roast suckling pig and a carnival of masks unlike any other. This page brings together four villages that can be visited together, less than 40 minutes from each other: Orgosolo, the village of the murals: about 150 paintings of protest and pastoral life on its façades. Mamoiada, home of the mamuthones, with the Museo delle Maschere Mediterranee and, every 16 January, the bonfires of Sant'Antonio. Oliena, at the foot of Monte Corrasi and the Supramonte, with the Su Gologone spring and the climb to Tiscali, the nuragic village hidden inside a mountain. Fonni, at about 1,000 metres the highest village in Sardinia, gateway to Bruncu Spina and the Gennargentu ridge. The Barbagia touches the sea to the east: the Gola di Gorropu, Cala Gonone and the coves with no road are in the Gulf of Orosei, about 40 minutes from Oliena (estimated). The two areas combine very well in a week. ## How do you get there from Spain? By plane. Olbia (OLB) has a direct flight from Barcelona and is the shortest arrival: from there to Oliena it's a little over an hour and a half by car, and to Orgosolo or Fonni about two hours (estimated). Cagliari (CAG) has direct flights from Barcelona and Seville; from Cagliari, Fonni is about two and a half hours away and Oliena almost three. Alghero has no direct flight from Spain. By ferry, Grimaldi Lines links Barcelona with Porto Torres, a little over two hours from Nuoro (estimated). Hire a car at the airport: in the Barbagia there's no other practical way to get from village to village, and the mountain roads are slow. ## Where to stay? Choose according to where you enter. If you arrive at Olbia, sleep in Oliena: at Su Gologone, the hotel that began as a restaurant in 1967, next to the spring, or at the Agriturismo Guthiddai, a family country house at the foot of the Corrasi. If you arrive at Cagliari or want the mountains, in Fonni, at the Hotel Cualbu, with a pool and sauna. With two nights, do one on each side. For eating, the fireplace-roasted suckling pig at the Su Gologone restaurant, the Barbagia menu with published prices at Monte Maccione, above Oliena, or the €22 and €23 menus with wine at Il Portico, in Orgosolo. ## What to do? A day of villages. In the morning, the masks museum in Mamoiada; at midday, the murals and lunch in Orgosolo; in the afternoon, a Cannonau tasting at the village's small growers' winery. It's the masks, murals and Cannonau plan. A day in the Supramonte. Climb to Tiscali, on your own or with the Cooperativa Enis from Oliena, lunch at Su Gologone and an afternoon at the spring: the Tiscali and Su Gologone plan. Two nights. Fonni and the Gennargentu on the first day, Mamoiada and Orgosolo on the second, Tiscali and Su Gologone on the third: the two-night getaway. ## When to go? Spring and autumn are the best time for walking: from April to June and in September and October the climbs to Tiscali and the Gennargentu are done without the heat. In autumn, too, the villages open their courtyards with Autunno in Barbagia, and Orgosolo holds Gustos e Nuscos in mid-October. 16 January is Mamoiada's day: bonfires and the first outing of the mamuthones; they return at carnival. July and August are hot inland, though the nights cool. In winter it snows at Fonni and Bruncu Spina. ## Dónde está - Cerca: Gulf of Orosei (a 25.1 km), Bosa and the Planargia (a 73.0 km), Alghero and Capo Caccia (a 96.1 km), Olbia and the Costa Smeralda (a 100.2 km) ## Qué hacer - **The Murals of Orgosolo, a Village Painted with Protest and Pastoral Life** (1 h 30 · All ages · Free): Orgosolo is a shepherds' village in the Barbagia, in the mountainous centre of Sardinia, at 620 metres above sea level and with about 4,500 inhabitants. What has made it known outside the island are its murals: according to Sardegna Turismo, the village holds a heritage of about 150 paintings on its façades, most of them on the main street and the alleys that lead off it. What the murals tell Orgosolo's muralism dates from the 20th century and began as a tool of protest. That is why many walls speak of politics and culture, dissent and popular struggles, social injustice. Others are calmer and portray the village's everyday life and pastoral traditions: women in traditional dress, shepherds with their flocks, scenes of home and countryside. There are paintings that comment on events in Italy and the world, and texts in Italian and Sardinian alongside the images. Walking among them is reading, wall by wall, how this village has seen itself for decades. What the visit is like There is no entrance fee, schedule or official route: you park and walk. In an hour you see the murals on the main street; with two hours you go into the side alleys, where some of the most photographed paintings are, and stop for a coffee. The streets are hilly, but fine on foot and with children. By mid-morning the excursion groups arrive; if you want quiet streets, go first thing or late in the afternoon. The façades are lived-in houses: photograph from the street, do not enter doorways or courtyards and do not climb the steps of homes. Getting there and where to park Orgosolo is about 20 km from Nuoro along a mountain road. From Olbia it is about two hours by car and from Cagliari, almost three (estimated). The centre has narrow streets: leave the car at the entrance to the village and walk up. What else is around Orgosolo's territory is enormous and reaches into the heart of the Supramonte: the Montes forest, with shepherds' huts (the pinnettos), yews, junipers and centuries-old hollies; the sas Baddes holm oak wood; the Su Suercone sinkhole; and, on its border with Urzulei, the Gola di Gorropu, which in this guide is in the Gulf of Orosei. In the village, the Cannonau tasting at Cantine di Orgosolo and the Barbagia menu at Il Portico complete the morning. - **Museo delle Maschere Mediterranee in Mamoiada, the Home of the Mamuthones** (1 h · All ages · Desde 9 € per adult): Mamoiada is a village of just under 2,500 inhabitants at 650 metres, a little over 15 km from Nuoro. It is known throughout Sardinia for its carnival, that of the mamuthones and the issohadores, one of the oldest on the island. The Museo delle Maschere Mediterranee, on Piazza Europa, explains it to those who cannot be here in January or February. What you see The visit begins with a sequence of images, texts, music and sounds about the village's traditions and its carnival. Then the Barbagia carnival room brings together some of the most important masks of central Sardinia, with the mamuthones at the centre: the hand-carved black wooden face, the sheepskins and the cowbells, about 30 kilos on the back, with which they advance at a slow, measured pace. Beside them, the issohadores, with red bodice, white mask and the soha, the rope with which they lasso spectators. The museum presents the theories that have tried to explain their origin. The Mediterranean room compares this carnival with others from the Alps, the Iberian Peninsula and the Balkans: you will see that some characters recall winter masks from Spain. The most valuable piece is the oldest surviving mamuthone mask, from the early 19th century. Hours and price According to Sardegna Cultura, it is open every day from 10:00 to 18:00; the museum's website gives last entry at 17:30 and a ticket-office schedule that appears to exclude Tuesday, so confirm it before going if you are going that day. Admission costs €9; the reduced rate, €7, is for groups and schools, and other reductions can be asked about at the ticket office. From 14:00 it can be combined with the village's other two museums, the Cultura e del Lavoro and the MATer, of archaeology. Buying online adds a €1.50 advance-sale fee. Guided visits There are guided visits at fixed times, at 10:30, 12:30, 14:30 and 16:30, with no need to form a group, in Italian, English, French and Spanish. The museum also organises, with booking, visits to the mamuthones' historic bases and wooden-mask workshops. Getting there From Olbia, a little under two hours by car; from Cagliari, about two hours and three-quarters (estimated). Mamoiada is 20 minutes from Orgosolo and Fonni: it combines well with both on the same day. - **Tiscali, the Nuragic Village Hidden inside a Supramonte Mountain** (4 h 30 · Teenagers and adults used to mountain walking · Desde 6 € per adult, entry): Tiscali is one of the strangest places in Sardinia. On top of the mountain of the same name, at about 500 metres, between the Supramonte of Oliena and that of Dorgali, the vault of a large karst cave collapsed and left a sinkhole, a crater of rock that cannot be seen from outside. Inside, in the shade of holm oaks and junipers, are the remains of a nuragic village. What is inside About a hundred stone structures in two groups: to the north, about 40 round and oval huts; to the south-west, about 30 smaller houses, square or rectangular. The first phase is nuragic, from between the 15th and 8th centuries BC, with dry-stone walls. A second, of small stones bonded with mortar, is Roman, and the place was used intermittently as a refuge until the early Middle Ages. It was discovered at the beginning of the 20th century. Tradition says it was the last bastion of the nuragic peoples against Rome: because of its narrow entrance, a few archers could hold back a legion. On the side opposite the entrance, a large window in the rock opens onto the Lanaittu valley. The microclimate is mild: cool in summer and temperate in winter. The climb You get there on foot. The path leaves from the foot of the mountain, in the Lanaittu valley, and climbs for an hour and a half along old charcoal burners' tracks. Sardegna Turismo considers it a demanding trek: steep, with uneven stone, with a single-file stretch beside a drop of about 200 metres. A natural fissure in the rock gives access, at the end, to the sinkhole. Bring boots, plenty of water and sun protection. The return is by the same path. To reach the Lanaittu valley, follow the SP46 from Oliena or Dorgali towards Su Gologone and turn towards Lanaittu. With a guide from Oliena If you do not know the Supramonte, go with a guide. The Cooperativa Turistica Enis, from Oliena, sets off from its hotel at Monte Maccione in a Land Rover, passes Su Gologone, crosses the Lanaittu valley and climbs with you for an hour on foot; the excursion lasts about three hours. It does not publish the price: ask when you book and check whether it includes the entry. Entry and hours Entry costs €6, €3 reduced and €4 for groups, and is paid in cash only at the village hut: there is no signal for cards at the top. It is open from 9:00 to 17:00 from October to April and from 9:00 to 19:00 from May to September. It is run by the Cooperativa Ghivine, which also runs Dorgali's archaeological museum. - **Su Gologone Spring, the Supramonte's Great Source at the Foot of Monte Uddè** (1 h · 500 m · All ages; pushchair on part of the path): Su Gologone is Sardinia's most important spring. It is in the countryside of Oliena, at the foot of Monte Uddè, where the Supramonte ends. The rain that falls on this limestone plateau seeps through cracks and chasms, runs underground and comes out again here, through a cleft in the rock, in a pool of green and turquoise water. It has been a natural monument since 1998. What you see From the car park, a flat, signposted path of about 250 metres takes you to the edge of the pool, at the foot of a grey wall. The water is so clear that it looks shallow, and it is not: in 2010, the diver Alberto Cavedon went down to 135 metres and the bottom is still unknown. The average flow is around 500 litres per second, and in floods, after heavy rain, it can exceed 10,000. The stream born here flows down to the Cedrino river. Around it there is a eucalyptus wood with stone picnic tables, a kiosk-bar and a children's play area. Nearby is the little rural church of Nostra Signora della Pietà. Kayaking on the stream From April to September kayaks are hired in the park to paddle through the canyon and the lake formed by the stream, towards the Cedrino. It is a gentle trip, between rock walls and reeds, that families with children who swim enjoy. The park's website does not publish prices or hours: ask at the kiosk or call beforehand. Entry and hours Entry to the park is paid, according to the Ministry of Culture's listing, but neither the park nor Sardegna Turismo publishes the amount or the hours. It is run by a company from Oliena, Le Fonti. If you go out of season, call beforehand to check it is open. Getting there From Oliena, take the provincial road towards Dorgali for about 6 km and turn right at the signposted turning, which goes down to a large car park. From Olbia it is a little over an hour and a half by car; from Cagliari, about three hours (estimated). Very close is the Hotel Su Gologone, which has the same name and fills its pool with water from this spring, and its restaurant. The Lanaittu valley, from which the Tiscali path starts, begins next door. - **Mamuthones and Issohadores in Mamoiada, from the Sant'Antonio Bonfires to Carnival** (4 h · All ages; with small children, at some distance from the parade · Free): For almost the whole year, the mamuthones live in the museum. But every winter they come out into the street, and seeing them in Mamoiada is something else: the noise of the cowbells is heard before they turn the corner. What it is The mamuthones are the masks of Mamoiada's carnival, one of the oldest in Sardinia. They wear a carved black wooden mask, the visera, the body covered in sheepskins and on the back sa carriga, about 30 kilos of cowbells. They advance as a group with a measured step, all at once, and each shake of the shoulders makes the bronze ring. They are accompanied by the issohadores, in a red bodice and white mask, who carry the soha, a rope with which they lasso someone from the audience. Being lassoed is taken as a good omen. Nobody knows for certain where this rite comes from. Theories link it to agrarian and pastoral rites, with the death and rebirth of the year; the Museo delle Maschere Mediterranee explains them. When they come out 16 January, Sant'Antonio Abate. It is the year's first outing and opens the carnival. That night bonfires are lit in the village's historic districts, and the mamuthones and issohadores go round them. Around the fire there are propitiatory rites, wine and sweets. Carnival. They come out again on the days of carnival, which fall in February or March depending on the year. The dates and times of each edition are announced by the village; check the museum's calendar a few weeks beforehand. How to experience it It is a village festival, not a show for tourists, and it is free. Arrive early to park: the streets of the centre are closed and Mamoiada is small. Wrap up well, because at 650 metres January nights are cold. With small children, the din of the cowbells can be frightening: watch from a little further back. Do not stand in front of the group or block its way, and leave room for the issohadores, who move fast with the rope. Where to sleep on those nights In January and at carnival the village fills with people from all over the island. Book in good time: the Hotel Cualbu, in Fonni, is about 20 minutes away, and Su Gologone, in the Oliena countryside, about 40. - **Cannonau Tasting at Cantine di Orgosolo, Vineyards and Winery with Barbagia Cheeses** (2 h · Adults; over-18s only · Desde 25 € per adult): The Barbagia is not only shepherding: on the slopes between Orgosolo, Mamoiada and Oliena, Cannonau, Sardinia's red grape, is grown, and also granatza, a local white. This visit is the most direct way to taste it where it is made, a few minutes from the murals. Who organises it Cantine di Orgosolo was born in 2007 from the union of a group of the village's small growers, each with their own vineyard and story. The winery is in Orgosolo's craft zone, on Via E. Mattana, and makes three Cannonau di Sardegna DOC wines, Fromboliere, Luna Vona and Neale, a red and a white IGT Barbagia, Locoe and Ispavillu, and a grappa. What the visit is like It lasts about two hours. It starts in the vineyard, where they tell you how Cannonau is worked in the mountains, continues through the winery and ends with the tasting: three wines from the area, with Cannonau at the centre, accompanied by dried ricotta, young pecorino, aged pecorino and pane carasau, the crisp bread of Sardinian shepherds. It is done in Italian or English. Wear comfortable, seasonal clothing and shoes for walking among the vines: in summer the sun is strong in the vineyards, and in winter it is cold at this altitude. Price and conditions From €25 per adult. Groups of 4 to 25 people. If there are two of you, ask whether they can join you with others. Over-18s only. All year; the time is agreed when booking. Transport and extra wine or tastings are not included. How to book The winery does not publish a phone number or email on its website: you book with the form on the visit page, stating date, number of people and language. Ask several days ahead, especially in summer and in October, when the area fills up with the autumn festivals, such as Gustos e Nuscos in Orgosolo. How to combine it In the morning, the Orgosolo murals and lunch at Il Portico, whose menu includes the house Cannonau wine; in the afternoon, the tasting. Sort out who drives: the roads back to Nuoro, Oliena or Olbia are winding. - **Fonni and Bruncu Spina, from Sardinia's Highest Village to the Gennargentu Ridge** (5 h · 4.9 km · Those used to mountain walking; the village, all ages): Fonni is at about 1,000 metres, on the north slope of the Gennargentu, and is Sardinia's highest village. It has about 4,000 inhabitants, a very lively pastoral tradition and, above it, the island's highest peaks. This plan combines the two: the village in the morning and the ridge in the afternoon. What to see in Fonni The centre of the village is the basilica of the Vergine dei Martiri, with frescoes, silver reliquaries and an underground sanctuary, surrounded by cumbessias, the little houses where pilgrims stayed at festivals. Next to it are the Franciscan convent of 1610 and the oratory of San Michele, of 1760. In the historic districts there are houses with wooden shingles, the scandulas, and murals like those of other Barbagia villages. Fonni's carnival has its own masks, the Urthos and the Buttudos. An hour is enough for the walk. The climb to Bruncu Spina From Fonni, a mountain road climbs about 15 km to the Bruncu Spina station, Sardinia's only ski area, with lifts on Bruncu Spina and Monte Spada, both above 1,800 metres. In summer, from the paved esplanade below the station, the path that follows the ridge towards Punta La Marmora, at 1,834 metres, the island's highest point, starts. According to L'Unione Sarda, the route is about 4.9 km, takes about two hours and involves 427 metres of ascent. It is of moderate difficulty: the path is not always well marked, so you need mountain footwear, to know how to find your way and to carry a map or a track. The reward is the view: on clear days you see almost all of Sardinia, from the Gulf of Oristano to the Supramonte and the Campidano, and sometimes Corsica. It is not a mountain to take lightly. At the top there are no trees or shade, the wind is strong and the weather changes quickly; in winter there is snow. Go from May to October, set off early and turn back if mist comes down. Getting there From Olbia, about two hours by car; from Cagliari, about two and a half hours (estimated). Fonni is about 20 minutes from Mamoiada and its mask museum. To sleep at the foot of the mountain, the Hotel Cualbu is in the village itself. ## Dónde comer - **Ristorante Su Gologone** (Restaurant, Oliena, €€€). Qué pedir: the porceddu allo spiedo roasted in the fireplace, the ricotta culurgiones or the maccarones de busa, and seadas with honey for dessert - **Ristorante Pizzeria Monte Maccione** (Restaurant, Oliena, €€). Qué pedir: the maharrones a busa or the pane frattau as a first course, the porcetto arrosto or the cinghiale al Nepente as a main course, and the sevada hin mele; if there are two of you, the Daddana tasting menu - **Ristorante Pizzeria Il Portico** (Restaurant, Orgosolo, €). Qué pedir: tourist menu no. 3, with maharrones de punzu with game ragù and myrtle mixed grill, or no. 1, with cured meats, pecorino and lisanzas alla barbaricina ## By plane: Flying to Olbia or Cagliari and Driving to the Barbagia The Barbagia is in the centre of Sardinia, with no airport of its own. Olbia has a direct flight from Barcelona and is the shortest arrival: a little over an hour and a half to Oliena. Cagliari has a direct flight from Barcelona and Seville; from there it is about two and a half hours to Fonni. Alghero has no direct flight from Spain. In both cases, hire the car at the airport. ### Dónde dormir if you're flying - **Su Gologone Experience Hotel** (Hotel): A hotel that grew out of a restaurant Su Gologone is in the heart of the Oliena countryside, about 500 metres from the spring that gives it its name, among olive trees and with the limestone wall of the Supramonte behind. It began as a restaurant in 1967: it was opened by Giuseppe "Peppeddu" Palimodde and Pasqua Salis Palimodde, and the success of its cooking brought the first eight rooms. By 1975 there were 33; today there are seventy. It is run by three generations of women of the family: Pasqua, Giovanna and Camilla. Giovanna is the one who redoes the decoration each year. It is a hotel of whitewashed houses, courtyards and stairways, full of 20th-century Sardinian art, textiles, ceramics and objects of the island. It has its own shops, Le Botteghe d'Arte. The rooms They range from the Classic, of 18 m², to the Deluxe of 20 to 25 m², the Deluxe Emotion with a bath on the terrace or balcony, the Junior Suites of 25 to 30 m² with a sitting area and the Suite dell'arte, with separate bedroom and living room surrounded by works from the collection. The Suite Colores is an open space of 35 to 40 m² for three people. The most distinctive are the Experience Suite, with traditional objects and materials, the Experience Wild Suite, designed for sleeping under the stars, and the Art Studio Villa, with a private pool. Pool, wellness and food The pool is 25 metres long and is filled with water from the Su Gologone spring; next to it is a whirlpool bath. There is an outdoor gym, in the garden beside the pool, and a wellness area. The restaurant is the original one, with the fireplace where suckling pig is roasted; for guests, dinners are also opened in the vegetable garden, under the olive trees or beside the bread oven, and breakfast includes Oliena honey, cheeses, cured meats and sweets made each day. Getting there From Olbia, a little over an hour and a half by car; from Cagliari, about three hours (estimated). The hotel is about 6 km from Oliena on the Dorgali road. It is the most comfortable base for Tiscali and the Lanaittu valley, which begin next door, and is less than an hour from Orgosolo and Mamoiada. The website does not publish prices, check-in and check-out times or whether dogs are allowed: ask when you book. - **Hotel Cualbu** (Hotel): A mountain hotel in the highest village Hotel Cualbu is in Fonni, at about 1,000 metres, in the Barbagia di Ollolai, at the foot of the Gennargentu. It is a family three-star, that of Giuseppe Cualbu, which has received travellers since the late 1970s and has been refurbished in a classic-modern style. It is the practical base for the upper part of the Barbagia: the Bruncu Spina station is about 15 km away, and Mamoiada, with its mask museum, about 20 minutes. The rooms There are two types. The Standard rooms have a bathroom with shower, satellite television and telephone. The Superior add a safe, minibar, whirlpool bath and heating. Wifi is free throughout the hotel. The website does not say how many rooms there are or publish prices: you book from its booking engine or by phone. Pool, sauna and restaurant It has a pool and a children's pool, a small gym and a wellness centre with a Finnish sauna, at 80–90 °C, and a Turkish bath, good after a day in the mountains. There is a garden for the aperitivo and a dance hall. The restaurant, Su Barracu, is in the garden, in a building of wood and stone that imitates the mountain houses of Fonni's shepherds. It serves Barbagia cooking: wild boar ham and sausages, pecorino and Barbagia reds. Some evenings there are dances and songs in the traditional dress of Fonni during dinner. Getting there Fonni is about two hours from Olbia and about two and a half hours from Cagliari by car (estimated). It is the side of the Barbagia closest to Cagliari: if you arrive from the south, start here. The hotel is on Via del Lavoro, in the village. The hotel also organises excursions in the Gennargentu and the Supramonte. - **Agriturismo Guthiddai** (Country house): A country house under the Corrasi Guthiddai is a family farm stay, that of the Floris family, in the Oliena countryside. It lies at the foot of Monte Corrasi, the limestone massif that dominates the village: from the courtyard you see the grey walls of the Supramonte right above. They are low whitewashed houses, with red tiles and a courtyard with benches and flowers, among the family's vegetable garden, olive trees and vineyards. The east coast, that of the Gulf of Orosei, is about 17 km away. It is the simplest accommodation on this list, and the most rural: here there is no pool or spa, but silence, countryside and home cooking. Rooms and food The family describes its rooms as well kept, with air conditioning and all the comforts; there is wifi. The website does not say how many there are or publish prices: you book by phone or WhatsApp. What counts most is the table. The cooking uses mainly what comes from the farm, from the garden vegetables to the oil and the wine, and what they do not produce they buy locally: pasta, cured meats, fruit. They are Sardinian-tradition dishes made at home. Meals can also be booked if you are not staying. Excursions from the door The family helps organise the trip, and the area offers a lot: canoeing on the Cedrino river and its lake, trekking and climbing in the Supramonte, guided excursions, on horseback or by off-road vehicle to Tiscali and the Gola di Gorropu, and meals with shepherds beside the sheepfolds that still remain in the mountains. The Su Gologone spring is a few minutes by car. Before booking The farm stay's website is old (its copyright is 2018) and does not publish prices, check-in and check-out times, pet rules or opening season. Call +39 0784 286017 or write on WhatsApp to +39 349 267 2159 and confirm everything. You need a car to get there: from Olbia it is a little over an hour and a half (estimated). ### Servicios - **Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport (OLB)**: The airport closest to the Barbagia: direct flight from Barcelona and hire car; Oliena is a little over an hour and a half away (estimated). - **Cagliari Elmas Airport (CAG)**: Airport of southern Sardinia, with direct flights from Barcelona and Seville; Fonni is about two and a half hours by car (estimated). ## By car: The Barbagia by Car In the Barbagia a car is essential: the villages are 15 or 30 minutes from one another along mountain roads, and the Su Gologone spring, the Lanaittu valley and Bruncu Spina can only be reached by driving. Bear in mind that on the map everything looks closer than it is: there are many bends. Presupuesto orientativo: 90–180 € por persona y día. ### Dónde dormir if you're driving - **Su Gologone Experience Hotel** (Hotel): A hotel that grew out of a restaurant Su Gologone is in the heart of the Oliena countryside, about 500 metres from the spring that gives it its name, among olive trees and with the limestone wall of the Supramonte behind. It began as a restaurant in 1967: it was opened by Giuseppe "Peppeddu" Palimodde and Pasqua Salis Palimodde, and the success of its cooking brought the first eight rooms. By 1975 there were 33; today there are seventy. It is run by three generations of women of the family: Pasqua, Giovanna and Camilla. Giovanna is the one who redoes the decoration each year. It is a hotel of whitewashed houses, courtyards and stairways, full of 20th-century Sardinian art, textiles, ceramics and objects of the island. It has its own shops, Le Botteghe d'Arte. The rooms They range from the Classic, of 18 m², to the Deluxe of 20 to 25 m², the Deluxe Emotion with a bath on the terrace or balcony, the Junior Suites of 25 to 30 m² with a sitting area and the Suite dell'arte, with separate bedroom and living room surrounded by works from the collection. The Suite Colores is an open space of 35 to 40 m² for three people. The most distinctive are the Experience Suite, with traditional objects and materials, the Experience Wild Suite, designed for sleeping under the stars, and the Art Studio Villa, with a private pool. Pool, wellness and food The pool is 25 metres long and is filled with water from the Su Gologone spring; next to it is a whirlpool bath. There is an outdoor gym, in the garden beside the pool, and a wellness area. The restaurant is the original one, with the fireplace where suckling pig is roasted; for guests, dinners are also opened in the vegetable garden, under the olive trees or beside the bread oven, and breakfast includes Oliena honey, cheeses, cured meats and sweets made each day. Getting there From Olbia, a little over an hour and a half by car; from Cagliari, about three hours (estimated). The hotel is about 6 km from Oliena on the Dorgali road. It is the most comfortable base for Tiscali and the Lanaittu valley, which begin next door, and is less than an hour from Orgosolo and Mamoiada. The website does not publish prices, check-in and check-out times or whether dogs are allowed: ask when you book. - **Hotel Cualbu** (Hotel): A mountain hotel in the highest village Hotel Cualbu is in Fonni, at about 1,000 metres, in the Barbagia di Ollolai, at the foot of the Gennargentu. It is a family three-star, that of Giuseppe Cualbu, which has received travellers since the late 1970s and has been refurbished in a classic-modern style. It is the practical base for the upper part of the Barbagia: the Bruncu Spina station is about 15 km away, and Mamoiada, with its mask museum, about 20 minutes. The rooms There are two types. The Standard rooms have a bathroom with shower, satellite television and telephone. The Superior add a safe, minibar, whirlpool bath and heating. Wifi is free throughout the hotel. The website does not say how many rooms there are or publish prices: you book from its booking engine or by phone. Pool, sauna and restaurant It has a pool and a children's pool, a small gym and a wellness centre with a Finnish sauna, at 80–90 °C, and a Turkish bath, good after a day in the mountains. There is a garden for the aperitivo and a dance hall. The restaurant, Su Barracu, is in the garden, in a building of wood and stone that imitates the mountain houses of Fonni's shepherds. It serves Barbagia cooking: wild boar ham and sausages, pecorino and Barbagia reds. Some evenings there are dances and songs in the traditional dress of Fonni during dinner. Getting there Fonni is about two hours from Olbia and about two and a half hours from Cagliari by car (estimated). It is the side of the Barbagia closest to Cagliari: if you arrive from the south, start here. The hotel is on Via del Lavoro, in the village. The hotel also organises excursions in the Gennargentu and the Supramonte. - **Agriturismo Guthiddai** (Country house): A country house under the Corrasi Guthiddai is a family farm stay, that of the Floris family, in the Oliena countryside. It lies at the foot of Monte Corrasi, the limestone massif that dominates the village: from the courtyard you see the grey walls of the Supramonte right above. They are low whitewashed houses, with red tiles and a courtyard with benches and flowers, among the family's vegetable garden, olive trees and vineyards. The east coast, that of the Gulf of Orosei, is about 17 km away. It is the simplest accommodation on this list, and the most rural: here there is no pool or spa, but silence, countryside and home cooking. Rooms and food The family describes its rooms as well kept, with air conditioning and all the comforts; there is wifi. The website does not say how many there are or publish prices: you book by phone or WhatsApp. What counts most is the table. The cooking uses mainly what comes from the farm, from the garden vegetables to the oil and the wine, and what they do not produce they buy locally: pasta, cured meats, fruit. They are Sardinian-tradition dishes made at home. Meals can also be booked if you are not staying. Excursions from the door The family helps organise the trip, and the area offers a lot: canoeing on the Cedrino river and its lake, trekking and climbing in the Supramonte, guided excursions, on horseback or by off-road vehicle to Tiscali and the Gola di Gorropu, and meals with shepherds beside the sheepfolds that still remain in the mountains. The Su Gologone spring is a few minutes by car. Before booking The farm stay's website is old (its copyright is 2018) and does not publish prices, check-in and check-out times, pet rules or opening season. Call +39 0784 286017 or write on WhatsApp to +39 349 267 2159 and confirm everything. You need a car to get there: from Olbia it is a little over an hour and a half (estimated). ## As a family: The Barbagia with Children With children, the Barbagia is a trip of villages, masks and water, rather than of long hikes. Short visits work well: the mamuthones museum, the walk past the murals, the Su Gologone spring with its picnic woodland. Tiscali and the Gennargentu ridge are for older children who walk well. ### What works best The Museo delle Maschere in Mamoiada, an hour, with guided visits in Spanish The Orgosolo murals, a free hour-long walk along hilly streets The Su Gologone spring, 250 flat metres from the car park, with a play area and kayaking from April to September The Sant'Antonio bonfires on 16 January, with the mamuthones in the street ### Where to stay Su Gologone, with a 25-metre pool and rooms for three Hotel Cualbu, in Fonni, with a children's pool ### Where to eat Monte Maccione has pizza from €5.50 and an outdoor play area Il Portico, in Orgosolo, with fixed menus at €22 and €23 ### Bear in mind The mamuthones' cowbells frighten the youngest: watch from behind Mountain roads cause car sickness: make stops The Orgosolo wine tasting is only for over-18s ### Qué hacer as a family - The Murals of Orgosolo, a Village Painted with Protest and Pastoral Life - Museo delle Maschere Mediterranee in Mamoiada, the Home of the Mamuthones - Su Gologone Spring, the Supramonte's Great Source at the Foot of Monte Uddè - Mamuthones and Issohadores in Mamoiada, from the Sant'Antonio Bonfires to Carnival - Fonni and Bruncu Spina, from Sardinia's Highest Village to the Gennargentu Ridge ## With teenagers: The Barbagia with Teenagers To a teenager the Barbagia gives something they do not expect from Sardinia: a Bronze Age village hidden inside a mountain, villages with walls painted with protest and a carnival of black masks and cowbells like no other. ### What works best The climb to Tiscali, a steep hour and a half to a sinkhole with a hundred stone houses The Gennargentu ridge from Bruncu Spina, towards the roof of Sardinia The Orgosolo murals, for talking about politics and history with something in front of you The mamuthones, in January or at carnival, or in the Mamoiada museum ### Where to stay Hotel Cualbu, in Fonni, 15 km from the mountain Su Gologone, at the foot of the Lanaittu valley ### Where to eat Monte Maccione, on the way back from Tiscali Il Portico, in Orgosolo, with home-made pasta ### Bear in mind Tiscali demands boots, water and no fear of heights on a stretch beside a drop The wine tasting is only for over-18s ### Qué hacer with teenagers - The Murals of Orgosolo, a Village Painted with Protest and Pastoral Life - Museo delle Maschere Mediterranee in Mamoiada, the Home of the Mamuthones - Tiscali, the Nuragic Village Hidden inside a Supramonte Mountain - Mamuthones and Issohadores in Mamoiada, from the Sant'Antonio Bonfires to Carnival - Fonni and Bruncu Spina, from Sardinia's Highest Village to the Gennargentu Ridge ## Consejos ### Bring cash Entry to Tiscali is paid in cash only. ### Allow for the bends There's little distance between the villages and a lot of mountain road. ### Combine it with the sea The Gulf of Orosei is about 40 minutes from Oliena. ### Book January early At Sant'Antonio and at carnival the few hotels fill up. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### Which villages should I see in the Barbagia? Orgosolo for its murals, Mamoiada for the mamuthones, Oliena for Su Gologone and Tiscali, and Fonni, the highest village in Sardinia. ### How many days do I need? Two or three: one for Mamoiada and Orgosolo, another for Tiscali and Su Gologone and, if you can, another for Fonni and the Gennargentu. ### How do I get there from Spain? Fly to Olbia, with a direct flight from Barcelona, or to Cagliari, from Barcelona and Seville, and use a hire car: a little over an hour and a half from Olbia to Oliena (estimated). ### When do the mamuthones come out? For the first time on 16 January, with the Sant'Antonio Abate bonfires, and afterwards at carnival. ### Do I need a guide for Tiscali? It's not compulsory, but the climb is demanding; the Cooperativa Enis in Oliena does it with a guide in about three hours. ### Is the Gola di Gorropu in the Barbagia? It lies on the boundary between Orgosolo and Urzulei; in this guide you'll find it under the Gulf of Orosei, from where it is usually visited.