Map of the rock climbing areas in Ogliastra, including Baunei & Jerzu

Map of the rock climbing areas in Ogliastra, including Baunei and Jerzu

The 5th Edition of the Pietra di Luna guidebook(published in October 2011) details all of the single pitch sport routes in the Ogliastra region of Sardinia. Buy this guidebook from our shop.

Rock Climbing in Ogliastra

Ogliastra is perhaps unique in Sardinia in offering all types of climbing from, single pitch sports routes, multi-pitch sports routes up to 500m long, deep water soloing (DWS) and bouldering. Some of the crags are in the mountains at over 1,000m altitude, which mean you can always find cool, shady crags in the winter as well as sunny low-level crags in the winter! Each of these areas has seen rapid developments over the last couple of years with the potential for much more.

List of the rock climbing areas in the Ogliastra region of Sardinia
No	Crag	Type of Climbing
1	Passaggia per Chitur	Single Pitch
2	Il Castella	Single and Multi-pitch
3	Palazza d'inverra	Single Pitch
4	Isala del Tesora	Single Pitch
5	Terra dei Venti	Single Pitch
6	Cascata Lecarci	Single and Multi-pitch
7	Canyon	Single Pitch
8	Gola di San Giargia	Single Pitch
9	Ussassai	Single Pitch
10	Selene	Bouldering
11	Mante Tanneri	Single Pitch
12	Praidas	Single Pitch
13	Lotzorai	Bouldering
14	Parta di S. Maria	Single Pitch
15	Mante Scaine	Single Pitch
16	Braccia di Ferra	Single Pitch
17	Villaggia Gallica	Single Pitch
18	Creuza de Ma	Single Pitch
19	Campa dei Miracali	Single Pitch
20	The Lemon House	Single Pitch
21	Punta Argennas	Multi-pitch
22	Punta Giradili	Multi-pitch
23	Monte Ginnircu	Single and Multi-pitch
24	Cala Goloritze	Single and Multi-pitch
25	Serra Oseli	Multi-pitch
26	Punta Plumare	Multi-pitch

Single-pitch sport climbs.
The cliffs around Jerzu have been developed since 1997 and continue to offer superb year-round steep limestone climbing, mostly at grade 6b or higher. Along with these established crags, the recent new developments at Ulassai and around Baunei mean that Ogliastra now has a full range of climbs. These range from slabs to very steep routes across all grades, including a reasonable number of 5's and easy 6's, as well as harder routes, all on fantastic rough limestone. The 5th Edition of the Pietra di Luna guidebook (published October 2011) is the comprehensive guidebook for all the sport routes in Ogliastra region.
What is particularly important to note is that the crags are at all elevations, from sea level to 1100m, and all orientations, so that, whatever your grade - 5's or 8+ - or preferred style of climbing, you can climb all year round, even in July, the hottest month. Jerzu, and Ulassai are suitable during these hottest months, whilst the crags at Baunei are ideal in the cooler months.

Multi-pitch bolted climbs
The famous Aguglia pinnacle at Cala Goloritze offers some of the easiest multi-pitch routes in the area, going from 6c max/5c obligatory. Pay close attention to the "obligatory" grade, which is the grade you have to be able to climb even when the bolt is below you...and study carefully the "S" grades in the Pietra di Luna (4th Edition) guidebook which give a good indication of the seriousness of the routes. At Punta Giradili routes such as Mediterraneo, 240m long at max 7a+/6b obligatory and Wolfgang Güllich, 400m long at max 7a/6b obligatory have long been modern classics, though the bolts are well spaced! There are hard (grade 7 obligatory) routes on Giradili as well as Monte Ginnircu just next door, where you abseil into the multi-pitch routes. Thankfully, if you're not cruising 7a, there are multi-pitch routes for you at Serra Oseli (though no guidebook is available), as well as at the Aguglia.
The new Pietra di Luna guidebook (5th Edition) doesn’t include any multi-pitch routes, though the majority of the multi-pitch routes are covered in the previous edition of the Piatra di Luna guidebook (4th Edition) that can still be bought from our shop.

Bouldering
Near Lanusei at an altitude of 1,000m are the woods of Selene with their granite boulders, which offer good bouldering in the lower grades during the summer. Near Lotzorai, on the coast, there is also some good granite bouldering. The limestone boulders at Serra Oseli continue to be developed by locals, including a recent Font 7b+ problem.

Deep Water Soloing (DWS)
With summer water temperatures up to 24°C, Sardinia is ideal for DWS. The best DWS is found at the Ogliastra end of the Gulf of Orosei, rather than the Cala Gonone end.

Ogliastra is Sardinia's wildest and least developed province, on the east coast of the island, 90 minutes' drive south of Cala Gonone and 2 1/2 hours' drive from the island's 3 main airports of Alghero, Olbia and Cagliari.
Thanks have to go to Peter Herold who has contributed much of this text and supplied many of the photographs. Peter with his wife Ann run the Lemon house. This is a guesthouse for climbers, cyclists and walkers based in Lotzorai, Ogliastra.