Today we decided to hire a car and venture into the mountains to walk the Gorropu gorge. We invited Mike and Debs along for a day out and as it happened they kindly offered to share the cost which was great because car rental away from the airport isn't cheap (€60 plus fuel).

There are various walks to reach the gorge each with a different start point. After some internet research we settled on the 'most beautiful' option with a difficulty level of 'easy hiking trail' that started out from the 'Cantoniera ANAS' car park along the Passo Ghenna Silana.

The journey to the start point was stunning as we followed the road with numerous hair pin bends and sheer drops whilst being overtaken by motorbikes and of course Italian drivers who dare to overtake on blind corners! Bruce did a sterling job as driver and approx 1 hour later we arrived at the start point ready for the 4km walk down to the gorge entrance.


at the car park

From the outset, the scenery was absolutely stunning as we followed an uneven dusty track through a dense forest of oak trees whilst dodging the hundreds of caterpillars' abseiling down on silk threads. We continued down passing a few caves until after approx 1.5 hours we finally reached the bottom of the gorge some 650m below.

At the entrance, having paid €5 we were given a detailed briefing of what lay ahead and the wildlife we were likely to see living in the cracks and crevices above. Painted spots marked the best way through the maze of car-size, white and smooth boulders, our hands used just as much as feet as we scrambled over each boulder one by one - we called it a day once the boulders became the size of small houses and instead just sat for a while watching the climber's above us whilst immersing ourselves on the sheer size of the gorge.

It wasn't an 'easy hiking trail' but it was certainly beautiful and worth the sweat and achy joints we experienced the following morning... the outstanding question is will Mike and Debs ever forgive us?

The Gorropu gorge is reported to be one of the deepest gorges in Europe cut by the river Flumineddu. The river actually runs underground through the ravine and only after heavy rainfall does a mass of water rage through before it eventually soaks away so it's only accessible to walkers and climbers throughout the dry months. The gorge is short, less than 5km long, its narrowest point approx 5-10m wide with 300m high walls - a climber's paradise and unless you have a guide and rope skills, only about a third can be accessed under foot.

A WORD OF CAUTION:
Getting down to the gorge was hard on the knees and the return journey back up, hard on the heart - it certainly proved to us that we need to do some cardiovascular exercise! We found it pretty hot even in May so we can't imagine what the temperature might be like in the summer.