To visit Gorropu Canyon on Sardinia – Walking with dramatic views

Writer: Helena Bergström

It is a special experience to visit Gorropu Canyon in Sardinia. This canyon offers really dramatic mountain formations. Moreover, some walks are needed to get ahead … We are talking about our experiences!

Gorropu canyon

Gorrropu Canyon is a deep canyon with walls that reach more than 500 meters high and a width that extends between four meters in the narrowest place to a few tens on others. The canyon is considered the deepest in Italy and one of the deepest in Europe.

Gorropu Canyon is located on the east side of Sardinia.

To go to Gorropu Canyon

There are three different principles to visit Gorropu Canyon, which can also be combined in different ways:

• Passo Ghenna Silana – 4 km walk in every direction. Rocky and steep. About 700 meters height difference from the starting point to the gorge. Good highway here for larger vehicles and possibly to park with a camper.
• Bridge Sigs Arva – Walking of 6.5 km in each direction. An easier walk, with considerably less height difference. The car road is winding and narrow here and is not recommended for vehicles of more than 6 meters. Here seems to be a simple place to stay for small campers.
• Field base Goropopu – From here a transfer is arranged with Jeep, for an amount of 18 euros/person. Where you are released, you can walk to the gorge for about 45 minutes. It is rocky, but no differences in great heights. Many people choose Jeep Transport on the Back Road.

Because the car road to Ponte S’Abba Arva did not seem to be suitable for our 7.3 meter long camper, we chose to drive to Passo Ghenna Silana. We drove from Cala Gonone and the road wriggled on high dramatic mountain roads with astonishing view.

It was excellent to ride here with our camper, and it was also nice to park when we arrived. To certainly find a parking space with a larger vehicle, it may be advisable to make ends meet or before 9 o’clock in the morning …

Walking to Gorrupo Canyon

Now it was time to walk! We stretched our hiking shoes and lunch it in a backpack. In the beginning there was a small simple info disk and we received information and exhortations before we left. Wear your good shoes! Don’t forget water! Do you have something to eat?

We were lucky with the weather – it was cloudy and even cool when we started, which of course facilitated the walk. To start with, it was a beautiful, relaxing and decent easy walk.

Gradually the views became increasingly dramatic.

The path is bordered by delicious stone formations, old trees and incidental “horny”, so affected “cuies”. This is a kind of sardine shepherd huts that are used for centuries, as temporary housing and as protection for weather and wind.

It will be steep towards the end of the walk. It is not very difficult to really go here, even if it is rocky, but it is Feels in the legs If it constantly helps …

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To visit Gorropu Canyon

So in the end, after about two hours of walking, we were at the bottom of the gorge. Here the area is characterized by large clear stones bumps.

To enter the canyon you have to pay access and when we were here it was 6 euros/person. At the same time you could book if you wanted Jeep transfers on the way back and yes, we thought it was a good idea!

Gorropu canyon

Now it was time for the real adventure – to visit Gorropu Canyon! Before the gap, you will receive an instruction:

• Green marking – Follow this one!
• Yellow mark – Follow if you want and are confident about yourself, now it will be harder!
• Red marker – Stop! This is only for advanced climbers, with a guide.

We followed the green mark – and also the yellow! – About stone bumps after stones bumps. It is slow here, but it does nothing, because you still want to stop and photograph.

The landscape is amazing and fascinating! There are also various plants that are endemic for Sardinia and one only Växer the Gorrod: Nuragic Aquilegie (Gorrapu-Akja).

At the end, along the yellow mark, it was very challenging, with large, smooth boulders to cross or again. We took it slowly and carefully and actually managed to reach the first red marking. Experiencing this dramatic environment was really delicious!

After the visit – two ways to come back

When you have finished the visit to Gorropu Canyon, there are two ways to come back. Or you walk all the way back, or you can book a jeep transfer. We were quite exhausted in the bodies after the adventure, and now it started to get warmer in the air, and that’s why we opted for Jeep transfers. But first we had to walk to the transfer, which lasted about 45 minutes.

The logistics around the Jeep Tours worked well and we didn’t have to wait very long. Then it became a bumpy and beautiful ride up, to Campo Base Gorropu. From there, the shuttle bus trip for the driver was back to the parking lot.

In the meantime, I, Helena, waited for base camps, where there is a small store, tables and chairs and toilets. After a beautiful full day in a dramatic nature, we were ready to continue our journey …

To think about when Gorropu Canyon should be visited

We thought the walk was really cool, but we were happy that we had a fairly cool weather. We can also tell you that we (especially me, Helena) then received incredible training. The walk from the highest point is not suitable if you feel out of shape or have an injury. Anyway, if you want to do this beautiful walk, we recommend starting fairly early in the morning and on/with: with:

• Good shoes (hiking shoes or gympakes)
• Comfortable clothing for weather
• Backpack to wear things (you need your hands free!)
• Sun/cap
• Sunscreen
• A lot of water (there is a freshwater source on the bottom of the canyon, but nothing on the road and at certain times of the year the source can become dry)
• Lunch bag/snacks (there is nothing to buy)
• Bag/swap to bring back junk
• Camera/mobile phone
• Cash (to pay access to the ravine)
• We also brought patches and pain tablets … you never know!

More to see and in the neighborhood

Near Gorropu Canyon we strongly recommend a visit to Cala Gonone. This coastal city is framed by high mountains and here you can take boat trips to fantastic beaches that are only reached from the water.

Do you want to visit Gorropu Canyon?

Do you want to visit Gorropu Canyon? Do you like to walk? Do you like unique nature experiences?