The Ferrata di Us Piggius di Plumare is in our opinion, the best via ferrata in Sardinia. It was equipped in 2001 by Sebastiano Cappai, a member of the association GEA from Nuoro. This was part of the project named Trek delle 7 Cale, which aimed to create a panoramic path to link Cala Sisine, Cala Biriala, Cala Mudaloru, Cala Mariolu, Cala dei Gabbiani and Cala Goloritze.

The path starts in Cala Sisine and runs north to south, in the opposite direction to the famous Selvaggio Blu. From the beach, it takes about 2 hours to walk towards the great wall of Plumare, where the alpinistic route starts.

The Via Ferrata di Plumare traverses the great wall on a narrow horizontal ledge, with incredible views and exposed passages protected with a steel cable. It takes about 90 minutes to complete the Via Ferrata, including time to breathe and enjoy the view. At the end of the ledge, there are 2 long abseils, the first one is 40 metres long, dropping you on an even narrower ledge. The next one is an awesome 55 metres hanging in the air between rocks and the sea. At this point, you’d be standing on the path of the famous trek Selvaggio Blu. It takes now two short sections of via ferrata to climb up a ridge, and then two more abseils (35 and 20 metres) to the thick woods below. At last, the path reaches the beach Cala Sisine, where the tour started. 

Remember the first boat to leave the port of Cala Gonone in the morning is at 9:00 am, while the last to go back from Cala Sisine is at 5 pm.

The Via Ferrata degli Angeli is considered by many the best via ferrata in Sardinia, considering the scenic view and the adventurous itinerary.

The old starting point was dismantled years ago, and now the Via Ferrata degli Angeli starts on a lower point, closer to the sea. You must be prepared to get lost and find your direction, among rocks and vegetation.

The itinerary alternates exposed climbs, horizontal traverses and extremely panoramic views over the coast of Sardinia. The cable is not continuous but placed only where necessary, so do not get scared if it ends and you have to search for the next bit. In total, we are talking of about 300 meters of steel cable, for an itinerary of 600 meters. Once you reach the end of the Via Ferrata degli Angeli, you have to keep scrambling on the crest of the mountain for at least 40 minutes before reaching Punta Cannone, the highest peak in Tavolara.

PS: some people enjoy abseiling from the top. This requires 2 x 60-meter ropes.

Starting from the port below, it takes 3 hours to climb to the top. It is recommended for Experienced Excursionists with knowledge of Alpinistic techniques.

The Via Ferrata di Punta Cannone ( also known as “via normale di Tavolara”) is an easy alternative to the more difficult Ferrata degli Angeli. The itinerary starts from the beach Spalmatore di Terra, just where the boat drops you, and follows the old path to the plateau “Bocca del Cannone”.

It takes about 2 hours to walk from the beach to the starting point of the Via Ferrata Normale.

Once at the base of the crag, the Via Ferrata Normale di Tavolara alternates horizontal traverses to easy vertical climbs. Overall it is an easy Via Ferrata, just a bit exposed and so obviously not for the faint-hearted. The cable is a mix of stainless stees and fixed ropes, about 80 meters in total lenght.

Close to the underground Via Ferrata in the cave Sa Oche, the Via Ferrata di Badde Pentumas is located on the enormous natural amphitheater at the end of the canyon Badde Pentumas.

From the parking to the Grotta Sa Oche (Oliena) it takes about 40 minutes to walk to get to the start of the Ferrata di Badde Pentumas. Once in the amphitheatre, a few zigzagging on the slanting ledges and a short scramble takes to the real start of the Via Ferrata, on an exposed and very high passage. This is a truly spectacular Via Ferrata, with no sight of the sea, much in the style of alpine originals.

The Via Ferrata della Regina is situated on the north side of the crag below the town of Monteleone Rocca Doria. This crag is renowned for its panorama and the many climbing routes that were equipped on its west side. It is a purely independent Via Ferrata and it takes up to 3 hours max to complete its 600 meters. Only about half of its length is equipped with steel cables as the rest can be easily walked.

The Via Ferrata della Regina has a hard starting point on an overhanging section of the crag. It is all equipped but it takes some “balls” and arm strength to hold on to the steel ladder. The vegetation can be very annoying during some passages but the higher ledge offers some panoramas that will make up for all the sweat. Furthermore, it also has a Tibetan Bridge, probably the one and only in Sardinia. More info (Italian only) can be found on the website ferrataregina.it

The Via Ferrata of Gutturu Xeu is a short and easy ferrata created fairly recently by the Associazione CISSA (Centro Iglesiente Studi Speleo Archeologici) on a small canyon close to Iglesias.

It takes only 15 minutes walking to reach the start from the parking lot and 2 hours to complete it. The main attraction of this Ferrata is definitely the exciting cable-way that connects one side of the canyon to the other. Although easy, it is not recommended to practice it without an experienced guide.

This via ferrata goes around and returns to the starting point. Some people enjoy abseiling to reach the base (40 meters) but that is not necessary.

NB: The Local administration closed the Via Ferrata di Giorré in 2015, due to an unstable rock.

The Via Ferrata di Giorré is located on a crag about 4 miles south of Sassari, in the north of Sardinia. The nearest town is Cargeghe, but you can see the precise location on the map at the bottom of this article.

The via ferrata di Giorrè, just like many others in Sardinia was created by Corrado Conca and runs on a high ledge of the crags that limit the plateau of Cargeghe. This ledge is very large in some sections, but gets narrower and even disappears in other sections. It takes about 3 hours to complete and has medium difficulty, with a spectacular view of the rocks and land that characterize the internal side of north Sardinia.

The Via Ferrata di Pan di Zucchero is located on the sea stack Pan di Zucchero, in Masua. It runs from the base, where dinghy can dock, up to the top at 133 m  a.s.l. From the top, it is possible to have a little stroll, abseil to climb the famous DIDI, or get back to the dinghy by a 45 meters abseil.

The Via Ferrata di Pan di Zucchero is among the easiest ones in Sardinia and is immersed in a very pleasant scenario. It takes a 1-minute ride on a boat to reach the starting point, which needs to be booked in advance with the guys at the Warung Beach Bar located just on the beach in Masua. They also rent out Via Ferrata sets (€20) for those who intend to do it without a guide.

It comes without saying, it is not possible to approach the Via Ferrata di Pan di Zucchero on a bad day with nasty waves

The Via Ferrata di Goloritze (aka Ledere di Goloritze) is NOT a touristic Via Ferrata but a wild and even harder variant of the famous trekking Selvaggio Blu. In order to avoid the difficult passage of Boladina, a group of guides led by Marcello Cominetti has equipped in 2015 this short Via Ferrata to reach the Ledere di Goloritzé, continuing the trekking towards Ispulighedenie (aka Cala Mariolu). Reaching the Via Ferrata is not easy, it ends soon and to get out of there and reach the beach is truly hard. Only do this if you are tired of your life!

The shortest way to reach Cala Goloritze is from the plateau Il Golgo, above the town of Baunei. The beach is a 1-hour walk away, walking on a steep path recently rebuilt by the local administration. From here the path goes north, either on sea level or a higher path which connects at the northern end of the beach. Once terminated the Via Ferrata it is possible to abseil to Ispulighedenie or continue to the west-side return path.

You can read the full review of the works on this article by Alessandro Gogna