CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
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.
519 km from Nughedu Santa Vittoria to Nughedu Santa Vittoria, about 10 h 25 of riding. It goes by way of Necropolis of Istevéne, Necropolis of Sos Furrighesos, Necropolis of Mesu ‘e Montes and Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante. The line favours views over speed.
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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Necropolis of Mandras is where the day begins. Next is Necropolis of Istevéne.
In Sardinian folklore, the little rock-cut tombs scattered across the island were the homes of janas, tiny fairies or witches who wove on golden looms and came out at night. Archaeologists call them domus de janas, fairy houses, and date them to the Neolithic and Copper Age, thousands of years before the famous nuraghi towers. The necropolis of Istevéne, near Mamoiada in the heart of the Barbagia, is a group of these chambers cut into the granite, some with carved details imitating the beams and doorways of real houses, and it belongs among the prehistoric Sardinian tombs that have gained UNESCO recognition.
Read the complete Necropolis of Istevéne write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Necropolis of Istevéne comes up about 59 km into the recorded legs. Next is Necropolis of Sos Furrighesos.
In the Goceano hills of north-central Sardinia, a low cliff of pale volcanic rock above the village of Anela hides one of the island's more striking prehistoric cemeteries. Sos Furrighesos is a cluster of domus de janas, the rock-cut tombs whose Sardinian name means houses of the fairies, carved into the face of the stone by Neolithic farmers some five thousand years ago. Some of the chambers are simple niches; others open into several rooms, and a few still carry carved reliefs of bull horns, a symbol you meet again and again in Sardinian prehistory.
Read the complete Necropolis of Sos Furrighesos write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 136 km into the recorded legs you reach Necropolis of Sos Furrighesos. Next is Necropolis of Mesu ‘e Montes.
Inland from Sassari, the Logudoro is a country of limestone ridges, small towns of honey-coloured stone and fields enclosed by dry walls, and in its folds lies the necropolis of Mesu 'e Montes, near the villages of Ossi, Muros and Florinas. It is a group of domus de janas, the rock-cut tombs of Sardinia's prehistoric farmers, some of them richly decorated with carved pillars, false doors and the stylised bull horns that seem to have been a symbol of protection or power.
Read the complete Necropolis of Mesu ‘e Montes write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Necropolis of Mesu ‘e Montes, about halfway. Next is 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante sits at 187 km, about halfway. Next is back through Necropolis of Mesu ‘e Montes.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Necropolis of Mesu ‘e Montes write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Necropolis of Mesu ‘e Montes comes up about 311 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Necropolis of Sos Furrighesos.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Necropolis of Sos Furrighesos write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 379 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Necropolis of Sos Furrighesos. Next is back through Necropolis of Istevéne.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Necropolis of Istevéne write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Necropolis of Istevéne, late in the day. Next is Necropolis of Mandras.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Necropolis of Mandras write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The route ends here after 519 km.
Necropolis of Mandras → Necropolis of Istevéne is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Necropolis of Istevéne → Necropolis of Sos Furrighesos is 77 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Necropolis of Sos Furrighesos → Necropolis of Mesu ‘e Montes is 63 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Necropolis of Mesu ‘e Montes → Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante → back through Necropolis of Mesu ‘e Montes is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Necropolis of Mesu ‘e Montes → back through Necropolis of Sos Furrighesos is 68 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Necropolis of Sos Furrighesos → back through Necropolis of Istevéne is 80 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Necropolis of Istevéne → Necropolis of Mandras is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.