This route in beautiful Sardinia starts in Tortoli and leads through the interior on winding and often very narrow mountain roads to Barumini. The route is about 142 kilometers and can be done in a day. A few stops are planned along the way to enjoy the beautiful interior.

When we leave Tortoli we fill up the engines to drive straight up through a beautiful winding mountain road between green vegetation. The roads are of reasonable quality but often very narrow so take into account oncoming traffic. There are ascents and descents in the route and many hairpin bends. Cattle graze along the roads and they can also cross the road, so be careful.

At RP11 you can turn left to visit the abandoned city of Gairo Vecchio. Gairo was originally built on unstable terrain. Buildings began to collapse from 1951. This led to the abandonment of the original site and rebuilding in an uphill location. The original village, known as "Gairo Vecchio" or "Old Gairo", is open to visitors. The current location of Gairo is due to a flood in 1951 that forced people to leave the old village and build a new one. The move was completed in 1969. Some of the population of the old village was otherwise forced to move to the lowlands and built the village of Cardedu (municipality on its own since 1984). The old village is still 2 km south of the new one. It is a village from the 14th century and is known as Gairo Vecchio. It is one of the most famous deserted places in Sardinia and in Italy. This "Ghost Town" is definitely worth a visit, if only because of the beautiful surroundings.

We continue on a beautiful winding mountain road with a few tough hairpin bends to the village of Ussassai (RP12) where you can stop for a drink and or eat. There are a number of small cafes and restaurants in this village.

Via the Mountain Pass Valico Arcuerì (RP14) we drive to the village of Seui (RP15), a charming medieval village at an altitude of 800 meters on the southern slopes of the Gennargentu massif. Around Seui, a village of 1,300 inhabitants, you can admire a varied landscape of colors that change according to the season. There are some interesting things to see and visit in this town and you can also plan a lunch there.

The next stop is planned at the Lago Basso del Flumendosa viewpoint (RP16). The Flumendosa is a 127 kilometer long river, it is the second longest river on the island behind the Tirso. The springs of Flumendosa are located in the Gennargentu massif, at the foot of Monte Armidda; it flows into the Tyrrhenian Sea near the towns of Muravera and Villaputzu. It drains a basin of about 1,775 square kilometers. Before the construction of two large dams, it had a discharge of 22 cubic meters / sec.

After this short stop we drive via the bridge “Ponte sul Flumendosa di Villanova Tulo” (RP17) to the terminus Burimini, just before the village we stop to take a picture of the Su Nuraxi di Barumini (RP19), a very unique fort from 2000 BC.

I appreciate this great route with 5 ***** Stars because of the beautiful roads, nature and interesting stops.