If you’re walking along this coast, you pass through here. That’s not a figure of speech: our locality, La Pedraia, is marked on the trail map of the Nurra coastal strip, and in the stage breakdown of the Via Catalana it’s the point where the stage arriving from Stintino ends and the one heading to Argentiera begins.
Out of season, hikers stop here to sleep. Usually just one night. This page is for anyone planning that day.
What’s here, in brief
- The Sentiero Costiero della Nurra, which ideally connects Capo Caccia to Capo Falcone
- The Via Catalana of the Cammino 100 Torri, which passes right through here
- The Nurra Trail, a 180-kilometre cycling loop between Alghero and Stintino
- A few day loops, for those who aren’t doing a long-distance walk but still want to hike
The Cammino 100 Torri and the Via Catalana
The Cammino 100 Torri circles Sardinia along the coast: 1,284 kilometres split into 70 stages and eight routes (vie), covered in a time ranging from 45 to 60 days. It’s named after the coastal towers it passes.
The branch that concerns this coast is called the Via Catalana and runs from Castelsardo to Bosa. That’s about 238 kilometres, split into thirteen stages.
These are the stages that cross the Nurra, with the data from the official track.
| Stage | Route | Distance | Elevation gain | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Porto Torres → Stintino | 26.7 km | n/a | Hard |
| 5 | Capo Falcone loop | 10.5 km | n/a | Medium |
| 6 | Stintino → La Pedraia | 25.5 km | 510 m | Hard |
| 7 | La Pedraia → Argentiera | 8.7 km | n/a | Medium |
| 8 | Argentiera → Porticciolo | 20.6 km | 520 m | Hard |
| 9 | Porticciolo → Maristella | 27.5 km | n/a | Hard |
| 10 | Maristella → Alghero | 22.2 km | n/a | Hard |
Stages 6 and 7 are the ones that begin and end here.
Worth knowing: the Argentiera stretch is considered one of the toughest of the entire island circuit, along with the Baunei coast and Pan di Zucchero in the Iglesiente area. Anyone arriving here after twenty-five kilometres from Stintino, with more to go towards Argentiera, needs to sleep and eat.
The pilgrim passport and partner accommodations
The Cammino works like other long-distance trails: there’s a passport where you collect stamps, a printed guide with QR codes for each stage, and a network of partner accommodations, over two hundred across the island.
The waymarking doesn’t yet cover the whole route. On this coast it’s worth carrying the track on your phone.
The Sentiero Costiero della Nurra
It was created in 2008 by the Municipality of Sassari as part of the PIT Argentiera Project, and is part of a larger plan called the Sentiero Mar di Sardegna: five hundred kilometres along the entire western coast, from Asinara to the islands of Sulcis.
A long coastal route ideally connects Capo Caccia, above Alghero, to Capo Falcone, above Stintino.
It has to be said honestly: this is not a continuous, fully-equipped trail. It’s a sequence of stretches of very different quality. Some are wide, comfortable dirt tracks, others are narrow paths on the cliff edge where you need to pay attention, and others still get overgrown by scrub depending on the season.
From Porto Palmas to the Frana
The easiest and most beautiful stretch, one you can walk without a second thought. It’s about 2.3 kilometres of dirt track that starts from the Porto Palmas car park and runs above the coast, with several paths down to the sea along the way.
It can be done on foot, by bike or on horseback. Fine with children too.
But watch out for the final descent to the Frana beach: it’s narrow and sheer, and there’s a sign warning of the dangerous area. The trail above is easy going, the last descent isn’t.
From the Frana to Li Furreddi
Here the trail gets serious. Whoever uploaded the track to Wikiloc warns that this stretch has exposed passages, and recommends following the small stone cairns, which shift the route a few metres from the coastline onto safer ground.
Not a stretch for anyone with a fear of heights, for hiking with small children, or for a first outing.
The Argentiera loop
From the mining village you climb up to Punta Argentiera and down towards Capo dell’Argentiera, the westernmost point of Sardinia.
The descent from Punta Argentiera drops about a hundred and seventy metres over eight hundred, with steep sections where you occasionally need to use your hands. It’s not mountaineering, but it’s not a stroll either.
From Cala Viola to Porto Ferro
Further south, towards Alghero. About four and a half kilometres of ups and downs with small elevation changes, around thirty metres at a time. Some stretches can also be done by mountain bike.
This is where the CAI 003 runs, connecting Torre del Porticciolo to Porto Ferro. It’s the only trail in the area with official CAI waymarking, and so the most reliable to follow.
Lake Baratz
Sardinia’s only natural lake. The loop around it is flat and can be done in any season, even winter. A path through the dunes connects it to Porto Ferro.
Monte Forte
The highest peak in the Nurra, 464 metres, with the remains of a castle at the top. A little further north is Punta Lu Caparoni, 445 metres. From up there you can see the whole coast.
Before you set off, three warnings
The wind. The maestrale blows from the north-west and is the dominant wind on this coast. On days of strong maestrale, the exposed stretches on the cliff are best avoided. Check the forecast the evening before.
The vegetation. Depending on the season, the scrub can cover the trail. In spring it grows fast.
The fences. Some coastal stretches are closed off by private property. The CAI notes, for example, that the fence at Villaggio Nurra blocks passage along the coast in the Rena Majore area. If you find a fence, don’t go through: look for the alternative route.
The single emergency number is 112. Phone coverage on these stretches isn’t guaranteed everywhere.
Day hikes starting from here
You don’t need to walk a whole long-distance trail. These are the outings we recommend to anyone staying with us who has a day to spare.
| Destination | Distance by car | Type of outing |
|---|---|---|
| Porto Palmas and the dirt track towards the Frana | a few minutes | Easy, fine with children |
| Rena Majore beach | 7 km | Steep descent from the car park, 15-20 minutes |
| Argentiera and the Punta Argentiera loop | 12 km | Demanding on the way down |
| Monte Forte | to be arranged | Climb, panoramic view over the whole Nurra |
| Lake Baratz and Porto Ferro | to be arranged | Flat, in any season |
By bike
This area is also popular with cycle tourists, and for two published routes we sit right on the way.
The Nurra Trail is a 180-kilometre loop with about 2,200 metres of elevation gain between Alghero and Stintino, usually split into three stages of around sixty kilometres each. It passes through Palmadula, which is where cyclists stock up on water and food even out of season.
The Nurra in bici route, which connects Porto Torres to Alghero, names La Pedraia along the way.
Rena Majore is a little over half an hour away from here by bike.
When to come
The season for walking here is from March to June and from September to October. Temperatures between twenty and thirty degrees, good light, walkable trails.
Not summer. From June to October, the whole of Sardinia is under a state of heightened fire risk, and on high-risk days some areas may be closed off. In any case, the heat on a coast with no shade makes walking tiring and not very pleasant.
November is the rainiest month, and we close on 30 October.
April, May, September and October are the best months for walking, and they’re also the ones when there’s more room here.
What we offer hikers
We’re a farmhouse with rooms and a kitchen. What people arriving on foot need, we already provide.
- One night is fine. Anyone doing a long-distance walk stops for one night and moves on: we don’t ask hikers for a minimum stay
- A packed lunch for the next day. We prepare it with what we produce ourselves. On this coast there are no supply points for kilometres
- Early breakfast, if you need to set off early
- Dinner with our own produce: cheeses, cured meats, porcetto, vegetables from the garden, wine and mirto made on the farm
- A place to dry out boots and wet gear
- Water, and a lift to the trailhead if needed
- Shelter for bikes
If you’re walking the Cammino and need to know the current state of the trail, just ask: we live here.
Questions
Do you accept just one night?
Yes. Anyone hiking stops for one night, that’s normal.
Do you prepare packed lunches?
Yes, with our own produce. It needs to be requested the evening before.
Is there water along the trail?
Don’t count on it. Palmadula is the closest supply point, and one of the few places in the area with anything open even out of season.
Is the trail waymarked?
In parts. The CAI 003 towards Porto Ferro is. The rest is uneven, and the Cammino 100 Torri isn’t yet waymarked everywhere. Bring the track on your phone.
Can you walk in summer?
You can, but it’s not worth it. There’s no shade, it’s hot, and from June to October there’s a state of heightened fire risk.
Can you bring a dog?
Ask when you book.
Do you offer a transfer to the trailhead?
On request, when we can. Let us know when you book, not on the day itself.
How do you get here without a car?
On foot from the previous stage, or we’ll come and get you if you let us know. Porto Torres is 28 kilometres away, Alghero airport 27.
Trail conditions change with the season and with maintenance. Before setting off, check the latest tracks on Wikiloc or Komoot, and ask us how the trail is looking these days.
We’re in Palmadula, in the locality of La Pedraia, on the Nurra trail map. Write to us, for one night or for a week.