Why this ride
A 306 km round trip from Nughedu Santa Vittoria - roughly 5 h 06 in the saddle. On the way it passes Petroglyph Park-b, Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante and back through Petroglyph Park-b.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Necropolis of Mandras and Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 306 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 06
- 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 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
Necropolis of Mandras is where the day begins. Next is Petroglyph Park-b.
2. 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
Petroglyph Park-b comes up about 67 km into the recorded legs. Next is Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante.
3. 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
about 150 km into the recorded legs you reach Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante. Next is back through Petroglyph Park-b.
4. back through Petroglyph Park-b
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Petroglyph Park-b, late in the day. Next is Necropolis of Mandras.
5. Necropolis of Mandras
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
Back at Necropolis of Mandras. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Necropolis of Mandras to Petroglyph Park-b
Necropolis of Mandras → Petroglyph Park-b is 67 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Petroglyph Park-b to Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante
Petroglyph Park-b → Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante is 83 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante to back through Petroglyph Park-b
Domus de janas of Roccia dell’Elefante → back through Petroglyph Park-b is 87 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Petroglyph Park-b to Necropolis of Mandras
back through Petroglyph Park-b → Necropolis of Mandras is 68 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.