Why this ride
From Goni it runs 229 km to Goni; allow about 4 h 13 of riding. The stops in between: Su Nuraxi di Barumini, Necropolis of Mandras and back through Su Nuraxi di Barumini.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu and Necropolis of Mandras
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 229 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 13
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu
The south of Sardinia is not all beaches. Inland, on the edge of the Gerrei hills, lies Pranu Mutteddu, a flat upland of granite, cork oak and scrub that holds one of the island's more striking prehistoric sites. The name means something like the plain of the little stones in Sardinian, and the place is known for its menhirs, standing stones raised several thousand years ago by Neolithic people, many of them still upright and arranged in rows or groups across the clearing.
Read the complete Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu is where the day begins. Next is Su Nuraxi di Barumini.
2. Su Nuraxi di Barumini
Nobody quite knew what lay under the mound outside Barumini until the 1950s, when the archaeologist Giovanni Lilliu, himself a native of the village, began to dig. What emerged was the most complete nuragic complex on Sardinia: a central stone tower built in the Bronze Age, later surrounded by a bastion with four corner towers and an outer wall, and beyond that the remains of a village of round huts. Su Nuraxi was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1997, and it remains the best place on the island to understand the nuragic civilisation, which left thousands of these towers across Sardinia.
Read the complete Su Nuraxi di Barumini write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Su Nuraxi di Barumini comes up about 44 km into the recorded legs. Next is Necropolis of Mandras.
3. Necropolis of Mandras
Cut into a slope of volcanic rock above the valley of the Tirso, near the village of Ardauli in central Sardinia, the Necropolis of Mandras is a cluster of prehistoric tombs that the Sardinians call domus de janas, houses of the fairies or witches. They were carved out of the rock with stone tools by farming communities, mostly in the late Neolithic, and some of the chambers imitate the inside of a house, with carved beams, doorways and pillars. Folklore said they were built by tiny women who wove gold at night, and in a sense the name says more about how ancient they felt to later generations than any date could.
Read the complete Necropolis of Mandras write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 116 km into the recorded legs you reach Necropolis of Mandras. Next is back through Su Nuraxi di Barumini.
4. back through Su Nuraxi di Barumini
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Su Nuraxi di Barumini write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Su Nuraxi di Barumini, late in the day. Next is Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu.
5. Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu to Su Nuraxi di Barumini
Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu → Su Nuraxi di Barumini is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Su Nuraxi di Barumini to Necropolis of Mandras
Su Nuraxi di Barumini → Necropolis of Mandras is 72 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Necropolis of Mandras to back through Su Nuraxi di Barumini
Necropolis of Mandras → back through Su Nuraxi di Barumini is 68 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Su Nuraxi di Barumini to Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu
back through Su Nuraxi di Barumini → Archaeological Park of Pranu Mutteddu is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.