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Gola su Gorropu

Location

Ogliastra

Italy

40° 9' 31.59" N, 9° 30' 28.0152" E

See map: Google Maps

IT

General info:

The Gorges of Su Gorropu, also called Europe’s Grand Canyon are located in the mountains of the Supramonte, surrounded by thick forests and wonderful oleander. This imposing natural abyss is a monumental limestone canyon, with up to 200m high walls on both sides. The canyon is 14 km long and is considered one of the deepest canyons in Europe. Inside the canyon, among white boulders, which have been smoothed and rounded by wind and water, runs the river Flumineddu. The descent is fairly easy and almost totally dry. The narrowest section has 4 rope descents separated by lakes, one of them undergound. One can discover grottoes and caves everywhere and often you can encounter big birds like the vulture, which will certainly attract your attention with its hoarse call.

Getting there:

The corge can be reached on foot or by mountain bike and if you have some money to spare you can hire a jeep Taxi to be carried to the entrance of the gorge. The best time to explore the gorge is the early morning - from the trailhead you have to walk quite a way to get to the entrance. Not that the Flumineddu Valley is open to the sun, making it a very hot place indeed. Another reason for starting early is the popularity of the gorge. Though far away from anything the jeep taxis carry a lot of people to the entrance and the narrow walls throw back echoes all over the place.

Costs:

Admission fee: € 2.50 - € 5.00 Lengthof time: 3.5h for the journey there

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