Rock Climbing in Ogliastra

Ogliastra is perhaps unique in Sardinia in offering all types of climbing from, single pitch sport routes, multi-pitch sport routes up to 500m long, deep water soloing (DWS) and bouldering. Some of the crags are in the mountains at an altitude of over 1,000m, which mean you can always find cool, shady crags in the summer, as well as sunny low-level crags in the winter!

The best sport climbing areas in Ogliastra are found on the cliffs around the villages of Ulassai and Jerzu, where it is possible to climb throughout the year on superb limestone rock.  All the routes here are single pitch with the style of climbing ranging from slabs to steep routes on vertical or overhanging rock.  Many of the routes are technical and sustained, across a wide range of grades between F4a and F9a. There are a reasonable number of F5's and easy F6's, as well as harder routes, all on fantastic rough limestone.  Ulassai and Jerzu are superb for the mid-grade climber with 456 routes in the F6’s and 490 routes in the F7’s.

At an altitude of 800m, the best time of the year to climb at Ulassai and Jerzu is from is from March until December.  The routes face all directions so there are lots of shaded walls for hot days (even in July) and sunny walls for the colder days. Reflecting the huge amount of climbing around Ulassai and Jerzu there is a separate climbing guidebook for the area, called Ulassai and Jerzu Rock Climbing Guidebook that is available to buy from our shop.

The climbing at Baunei is a mixture of single pitch and multi-pitch climbing (see below). Again, the climbing is on rough limestone rock with a wide range of grades to choose from. Baunei is at sea level and therefore it is an ideal place to climb in the cooler months.

The Baunei Sport Climbing Guidebook describes 25 different crags to the north and south of the town of Baunei, covering 100’s of routes across a wide range of grades from F5’s to F8’s, including some multi-pitch routes.  The Eastern Sardinia Crags guidebook covers a wide range of sport routes in Ogliastra region including Ulassai, Jerzu and Baunei.  Buy these guidebooks from our shop.

The Baunei region is the best area for multi-pitch routes in Ogliastra. Here you will find the famous Aguglia pinnacle at Cala Goloritze offers some of the easiest multi-pitch routes in the area, going from F6c max/F5c obligatory. Pay close attention to the "obligatory" grade in the guidebook, which is the grade you have to be able to climb even when the bolt is below you. 

At Punta Giradili, routes such as Mediterraneo, 240m long at max F7a+/F6b obligatory and Wolfgang Güllich, 400m long at max 7a/6b obligatory have long been modern classics, though the bolts are well spaced! There are hard (grade F7 obligatory) routes on Giradili as well as Monte Ginnircu just next door, where you abseil into the multi-pitch routes. Thankfully, if you're not cruising F7a, there are multi-pitch routes for you at Serra Oseli as well as at the Aguglia. 

The comprehensive guidebook that covers the multi-pitch routes in Ogliastra is called “Sardinia – Trad and Multi-Pitch Climbing Guidebook”, which is available to buy from our shop.

Near Lanusei at an altitude of 1,000m are the woods of Selene with their granite boulders, which offer good bouldering in the lower grades during the summer. Near Lotzorai, on the coast, there is also some good granite bouldering. There are also some limestone boulders at Serra Oseli.

With summer water temperatures up to 24°C, Sardinia is ideal for Deep Water Soloing (DWS). The best DWS is found at the Ogliastra end of the Gulf of Orosei, rather than the Cala Gonone end.

The Ogliastra region of Sardinia is also a great place to go mountain biking and walking. Discover more about mountain biking in Sardinia, with many great routes along cart and mule tracks left by shepherds and charcoal burners.

Discover more about walking in Sardinia including the famous Selvaggio Blu Trek that follows the wild coastline of Ogliastra.