Cala Goloritzé – Baunei

Costa di Baunei, Cala Goloritzé

The tapered limestone peak overlooking the beach, the rocky arch that plunges into the sea, the clearest of clear water. All surrounded by mountain ridges hundreds of metres high, covered by the intense green of the Mediterranean vegetation. “Cala Goloritzè” (a “Natural Monument” since 1993), a true “testimonial” of this wild and unspoilt coastline, is this and more besides. According to the stories of Baunei herdsmen who lived in the area’s folds, this spectacular beach formed in the fifties, following a landslide from the sandstone cliffs. Up until the eighties, the tiny beach was frequented mainly by free climbing enthusiasts, thanks to the notoriety of the feat accomplished by the famous climbers Maurizio Zanolla, from Trentino, and Alessandro Gogna, from Genoa, who were the first to conquer the summit of Punta Caroddi, in 1981. Maurizio Zanolla, better known as “Manolo”, is considered the father of sport climbing in Sardinia, given that he “imported” free climbing to the island in 1979 when, as a young rock climber specialising in repairs, he worked to make some of the crumbling cliffs along the eastern road safe. The first Baunei to climb to the top of Punta Caroddi, in 1986, was a climbing enthusiast called Mario Monni, a twenty-six year old pedal boat charterer at Cala Luna. However, the first Baunesis hiking guides to conquer the Aguglia were Antonio Cabras and Mariano Lai, in 1996. Nowadays, Cala Goloriztè is the preferred destination of all those in the Supramonte of Baunei who seek that incomparable combination of sea and mountains that is difficult to find in other areas of Sardinia. Since 1989, it is forbidden to moor less than 300 metres from the shore, so the beach can only be reached by land, starting from “Su porteddu” on the Golgo plateau. During the summer, the beach is besieged on a daily basis by hundreds of hikers, who reach it by taking the path along the “Baccu Goloritzè”. Two hundred metres north of the main beach is a small beach called “of the Springs” because of the spring waters that flow among the rocks. In special conditions of calm seas and low tide, fresh water springs a few centimetres above the water's edge. The existence of this valuable spring was obviously known to the herdsmen in the area, who used to make the awkward crossing (walking on a steep, smooth limestone slab) to get to the fresh water so that they could fill their “barrila” (a small bottle).