Why this ride
From Alghero it runs 291 km to Alghero; allow about 4 h 55 of riding. The stops in between: Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante, Petroglyph Park-b and back through Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Necropolis of Anghelu Ruju and Petroglyph Park-b
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 291 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 55
- 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. Necropolis of Anghelu Ruju
Not far from Alghero, on the flat land behind the coast, lies the largest group of domus de janas in Sardinia. Anghelu Ruju is a necropolis of more than thirty rock-cut tombs, dug into the sandstone with stone tools around five thousand years ago and later reused for burials into the Bronze Age. The site was found in 1903 when workers were preparing land for a vineyard, and excavations revealed chambers with carved bull's horns, false doorways and painted ochre, together with pottery, figurines and personal ornaments now displayed in museums in Sassari and Cagliari. The bull motifs are thought to have been linked to fertility and protection, and they give these dim chambers a surprisingly powerful presence.
Read the complete Necropolis of Anghelu Ruju write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Necropolis of Anghelu Ruju is where the day begins. Next is Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante.
2. 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 comes up about 60 km into the recorded legs. Next is Petroglyph Park-b.
3. Petroglyph Park-b
The Logudoro in northern Sardinia is a high, rolling country of basalt plateaus and the worn cones of extinct volcanoes, where cork oaks and wild olives stand in dry pasture and every second hill seems to have a ruined nuraghe on it. Petroglyph Park-b lies near the small villages of Cheremule, Giave and Torralba, in an area where the rock itself was used as an archive, carved into tombs and marked with symbols by people who lived here thousands of years before Rome.
Read the complete Petroglyph Park-b write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 145 km into the recorded legs you reach Petroglyph Park-b. Next is back through Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante.
4. back through 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 through Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante, late in the day. Next is Necropolis of Anghelu Ruju.
5. Necropolis of Anghelu Ruju
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Necropolis of Anghelu Ruju write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Necropolis of Anghelu Ruju. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Necropolis of Anghelu Ruju to Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante
Necropolis of Anghelu Ruju → Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante to Petroglyph Park-b
Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante → Petroglyph Park-b is 85 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Petroglyph Park-b to back through Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante
Petroglyph Park-b → back through Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante is 83 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante to Necropolis of Anghelu Ruju
back through Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante → Necropolis of Anghelu Ruju is 63 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.