Excursions

The Staff at Hotel San Francisco can offer suggestions on the best itineraries and can accompany you to discover the most beautiful corners of the Gulf of Orosei and the Supramonte of Dorgali.
From visits to the famous coves that can be reached only by sea or even high difficulty trekking, such as Cala Luna, Cala Mariolu, Cala Goloritzé, to the inland routes full of charm such as Gola di Gorroppu and the Nuragic village of Tiscali, passing through horseback riding and riding lessons along the numerous bridges of the Supramonte chain. All to offer you a holiday of nature and outdoor sports.
The in-depth knowledge of the area and the agreements stipulated with expert environmental guides allow us to plan tailor-made itineraries for school groups and elderly groups.
 

Ovile Pranos

From Hotel San Francisco to Ovile Pranos is a beautiful and fairly simple hike. Ovile Pranos is located above Cala Gonone, where you can enjoy the beautiful view of the entire Gulf of Orosei among the smells and colours.
This excursion is free for all our guests who stay with us for at least 7 nights.
 

Tiscali

It is a very small mountain, just over 500 metres tall, inside the Valle di Lanaitho. Here are the remains of a mysterious village built in the Nuragic age (XV/XIV – IX/VIII century BC) and inhabited until the Roman age (II/I century BC). Millions of years ago, before it was inhabited, the vault collapsed giving life to an enormous crater allowing for settlement of the land. Inside this crater, circular houses were built, made with small stones and covered with tree trunks. The site, mysterious and fascinating, was probably used as a shelter and because of its position, even today, it is almost inaccessible and impenetrable for those unfamiliar with the path.
Hotel San Francisco organizes excursions and guided tours to discover the remains of one of the most evocative and fascinating archaeological sites in Sardinia, the only one in the whole island to have been built inside a cave.
 

Gorropu

It is one of the largest canyons in Europe with walls that reach almost 500 metres in height. The Flumineddu river, that for centuries has run inside the gorge, and which rises up with heavy rains to fill up most of the canyon, has transformed the stones by rounding them, smoothing them and shaping them until they became real limestone spheres. . This wild, uncontaminated and natural place, set inside the Supramonte, offers with its very high walls, an excellent shelter for eagles and buzzards.
The trek on foot to admire this site is one of the most fascinating that we organise. The majesty of the gorge and the cyclopean stones will leave in you the memory of a wonderful adventure.
 

Monte Corrasi and Valle di Lanaitho

It is one of the most suggestive excursions for the richness of the program. You will admire the highest peaks of the Supramonte in a 4×4, reaching Scala Pradu at 1200 m. From here, a landscape that spans tens of kilometres and that will allow you to dominate, from above, half of Sardinia.
You will then visit Su Gologone, the largest karst source of Sardinia, proceeding through Lanaitho, one of the most beautiful and interesting valleys for the presence of numerous archaeological sites and natural monuments.
Among these, one of the most interesting is “Sedda Sos Carros”, a Nuragic village where a sacred spring was found with nine ram heads carved on the stone, the only one of its kind in the entire Mediterranean basin.
With a short walk you will reach the cave of “Sa Ohe” (the voice), from within which, in the event of heavy rains, an underground river gushes forth, preceded by a deafening roar, “the voice”, as if to warn the inhabitants of the valley of the imminent flood. From here you can reach the sheepfold neighbours of the shepherds who will be busy to prepare an excellent lunch of cured meats, cheeses, ricotta, roast sausages and porcetto, vegetables, fruit, water and coffee. Cannonau wine and “filu ferru” will inebriate everyone in the
memory of a unique and unforgettable day.
 

Supramonte of Orgosolo

The Supramonte of Orgosolo is one of the most mysterious places in Sardinia. Reaching Monte Novo San Giovanni is a must for those visiting those areas. Monte Novo San Giovanni is a very unique limestone heel that stands out alone in the mountains and from its 1316 metres it allows you to dominate all the Supramonte up to the high ridges of the Gennargentu. Because of the majesty of the territory, the deafening silence and the density of the woods, this is one of the favorite oases of eagles, wild sheep and wild boar. You will often spot an eagle in flight or mouflons and wild boars that quietly graze undisturbed.
Another experience not to be missed is lunch with the shepherds. Once you have reached “Su Vadu e S’Enis”, the shepherds in their “pinnettos” will prepare a delicious lunch based on local products such as cold meats, cheeses, sheep “in capotto”, roast suckling pig, carasau bread, spianate, vegetables, fruit, water, coffee and digestive liqueur, all accompanied by the famous Cannonau red wine.
In the afternoon we return to Orgosolo to admire the beautiful murals, the paintings made by the people of Orgosolo on the outer walls of the houses to express their disappointment against the impositions of the Italian State.
 

Trekking from Scala Pradu to Punta Corrasi and Sa Vadde de Sas Mandras

The trek at Punta Corrasi is the best for those who love walking and enjoy the silence of the mountain and the majesty of nature. Punta Corrasi is the highest peak of the Supramonte and from the height of its 1463 metres you can admire at least half of the island from the hills, plains, valleys and surrounding mountains to the Gulf of Orosei and the high ridges of the Gennargentu.
Moreover, the whole chain is one of the most interesting areas from a botanical – naturalistic point of view. In addition to the presence of eagles and mouflons, is the location where you can find the most endemic, medicinal and officinal plants on the Supramonte.
Finally, the colours of wild flowers such as lilies, peonies, bluebells, cyclamens and orchids embedded in white and grey limestone, make trekking at Corrasi one of the most fascinating treks in Sardinia.