A vintage train climbing from sea to heels at 30 km/h, through hand-dug tunnels and viaducts suspended over woods: the Trenino Verde is the most poetic way to read Ogliastra.
The impossible railway
Built in the late 1800s to link sea and interior, the Arbatax–Gairo line is a masterpiece of slow engineering: 60 km of curves, stone bridges and tiny stations where the stationmaster still waves in full cap. D.H. Lawrence wrote about it in 1921; the landscape has barely changed since.
The journey
You leave among coastal eucalyptus, climb through holm oaks and heels, and can hop off at Lanusei or the Selene wood for lunch. The pace is the experience: open windows, maquis scent, the whistle bouncing across valleys.
Our tips
- Sit on the right side going up: the best views are there.
- Bring water and a hat: the historic carriages are… historically ventilated.
- Perfect on mistral days, when the sea takes a rest.