A transfer stage, very easy and fluid, almost entirely on secondary asphalt roads. Although there is a lack of bends, the landscape remains pleasant,amidst vineyards and glimpses of the Limbara range.
This stage is a variant of the Sentiero Italia (which goes directly from Monti to Calangianus), preferred to cross the unmissable Limbara group, a real jewel of the Gallurese hinterland.
A stage you should avoid in the middle summer months.
We leave the village of Monti on an asphalted road that hardly loses altitude and pass the Nuraghe Logu, then the state road; shortly afterwards we pass under the railway line and follow it to the left; then we take a small road to the right and ride on it for several kilometres through a rural landscape dominated by vineyards.
When we come to a rougher road, we turn right and after a few hundred metres take a side road to the left, which we follow with slight ups and downs until we reach the outskirts of Berchidda.
Along the country roads of Gallura it is not uncommon to come across wild turtles. These are turtles of the Testudo Marginata breed, commonly called the “Sardinian turtle”: it is characterised by a shell that widens towards the tail as if forming a skirt - this is more pronounced in males. The Sardinian breed can grow much larger than its Mediterranean relatives.
Equipped with an excellent sense of direction, these animals have excellent eyesight as well as an excellent sense of smell, while they have no developed hearing. The turtle may have been introduced by the Etruscans, who used it not only for food but also for burial rites, which were later adopted by the Romans.
Berchidda is the birthplace of the famous jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player Paolo Fresu.
He began his career in the local band and then attended the Conservatorio Luigi Canepa in Sassari. From the 1980s onwards, he embarked on a successful career that took him to stages all over Europe and made him one of Europe’s leading trumpeters.
Since 1988, Berchidda has hosted Time Jazz, a music festival founded by Paolo Fresu that brings the best artists on the international scene to the small Sardinian community every summer. The main concerts take place in Berchidda’s Piazza del Popolo and are enriched by free events held in other venues in the village or in neighbouring towns.
The festival is not only a meeting of musicians, but has always included other arts, from cinema to dance, from theatre to literature. Every year in the small Gallura community, music from all over the world mixes in its variety of sounds and genres: from African rhythms to electronic music.
In Berchidda, in addition to the classic Sardinian dishes, you can find those linked to the Gallurese tradition, such as Puligioni, ricotta ravioli filled with a little sugar and lemon and served with a tomato and pecorino sauce, or Mazza Frissa, a special béchamel sauce made with fresh cream and durum wheat semolina, perfect with honey or stewed broad beans.
Hotel Ristorante Nuovo Limbara, in Berchidda. Tel. +39079 704165
Hotel Sos Chelvos, in Berchidda. Tel. +39079 704935
The starting point is accessible by car.
The starting point can be reached by bus, starting from the city of Olbia.
Here is the LINK to check the timetable.
The starting point is NOT accessible by train.
Va' Sentiero is a grassroot project, thanks to the spontaneous contribution oft housands of people.
Even the most complicated dream, a 7,000km uphill dream,
can be achieved... together.
Grazie!
