Why this ride
An 82 km round trip from Castelsardo - roughly 1 h 37 in the saddle. On the way it passes Domus de janas of Orto del Beneficio Parro, Necropolis of Su Crucifissu Mannu and back through Domus de janas of Orto del Beneficio Parro.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante and Necropolis of Su Crucifissu Mannu
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 82 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 37
- 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. Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante
On the side of the main road below Castelsardo, in northern Sardinia, a huge reddish rock stands alone at a bend, and it really does look like an elephant, trunk lowered, as if about to drink. It is a block of volcanic trachyte that broke away from the hills above and was sculpted by wind and rain into its strange shape. What most passing drivers miss is that its base was used long before anyone thought of elephants: two prehistoric tombs, domus de janas, were cut into the rock in the Neolithic period, and in one of them carved horn shapes, the symbol of the bull, can still be made out.
Read the complete Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante is where the day begins. Next is Domus de janas of Orto del Beneficio Parro.
2. Domus de janas of Orto del Beneficio Parro
Most prehistoric tombs in Sardinia sit out in the countryside behind a gate and a dirt track. The domus de janas of Orto del Beneficio Parrocchiale are different: they are in Sennori itself, a few steps from the houses, carved into the soft limestone in what was once, as the name suggests, a garden belonging to the parish. A handful of chambers opens out of the rock, small rooms with low doorways, the work of Neolithic farmers who lived on this ridge thousands of years before anyone thought of building a church here.
Read the complete Domus de janas of Orto del Beneficio Parro write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Domus de janas of Orto del Beneficio Parro comes up about 25 km into the recorded legs. Next is Necropolis of Su Crucifissu Mannu.
3. Necropolis of Su Crucifissu Mannu
Sardinians call them domus de janas, houses of the fairies, and when you crouch at the entrance of one you understand the name. They are tombs cut straight into the soft limestone by the island's Neolithic and Copper Age people, small chambers linked by low doorways, sometimes with carved false doors or bull horns on the walls. The necropolis of Su Crucifissu Mannu, just inland from Porto Torres, holds a couple of dozen of them scattered across a low rocky plateau among fields and scrub, one of the largest groups in the north of the island.
Read the complete Necropolis of Su Crucifissu Mannu write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 42 km into the recorded legs you reach Necropolis of Su Crucifissu Mannu. Next is back through Domus de janas of Orto del Beneficio Parro.
4. back through Domus de janas of Orto del Beneficio Parro
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Domus de janas of Orto del Beneficio Parro write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Domus de janas of Orto del Beneficio Parro, late in the day. Next is Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante.
5. Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante to Domus de janas of Orto del Beneficio Parro
Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante → Domus de janas of Orto del Beneficio Parro is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Domus de janas of Orto del Beneficio Parro to Necropolis of Su Crucifissu Mannu
Domus de janas of Orto del Beneficio Parro → Necropolis of Su Crucifissu Mannu is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Necropolis of Su Crucifissu Mannu to back through Domus de janas of Orto del Beneficio Parro
Necropolis of Su Crucifissu Mannu → back through Domus de janas of Orto del Beneficio Parro is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Domus de janas of Orto del Beneficio Parro to Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante
back through Domus de janas of Orto del Beneficio Parro → Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.