Clinging to a limestone ledge at 480 metres, Baunei is the gateway to the seaside Supramonte: from here you climb to the Golgo and descend to the Mediterranean's finest coves. A shepherds' village turned trekking capital.
The vertical village
Baunei is walked uphill: steep alleys, stone houses, murals of agro-pastoral life, and at every corner a sweeping view down the valley to the sea. From the viewpoint at the village entrance you can see the coast to Arbatax on clear days.
The Golgo
The road climbing behind the church reaches the Golgo plateau in ten hairpins: goats, donkeys and pigs graze free among juniper sheepfolds and the chasm of Su Sterru, a 270-metre karst abyss. The rural church of San Pietro, with its ancient betyls, is the community's spiritual heart.
At the table
Baunei is the place for shepherds' cooking: kid goat, suckling pig, culurgiones and cheese from the Golgo refuges. On the plateau you dine beneath holm oaks after a hike — always book in summer.