Dorgali

Plan your 2017 holiday in Dorgali, in Sardinia, Italy! Find useful tourist information about Dorgali and the surrounding area, to help you to organise a truly memorable experience. Discover the best things to do, must-sees in the vicinity, and choose your ideal holiday accommodation in Dorgali. Check destination ports and airports, including distances. Plan your next holiday, book online and find the very best prices for you, your family and friends on Sardegna.com! For assistance and advice, please contact our expert, multilingual personnel, specialised in Sardinia, who will be happy to help you find the perfect solution, at no extra cost. Buon viaggio!

Photo of Dorgali or surroundings

Incredibly rich and charming scenery characterises the vast territory (225 sq. km.) in which Dorgali immerses, 387 m high and with a population of 8000 people.

This variety is due to its geographic position between Baronia and Barbagia close to the eastern coastline and the Supramonte area, halfway between the vast plateau of volcanic origin enriched with archaeological evidence and the valley of the Cedrino, home to the homonymous lake.
Supramonte is a true museum for its geological and botanical aspects. Its natural beauties include alders, willow trees, ilex, junipers as well as ravines with schists and granite, dolina and inaccessible summits. The more famous are the stretches of coastline that look out over the Gulf of Orosei with its spectacular coastal cliffs that plummet to the sea, its small, inaccessible beaches and the Gola di Su Gorropu, one of the highest and most spread out canyons in all of Europe (its calcareous walls reach 400 m high).
From an archaeological point of view, the entire region contains evidence of antique peoples of different cultures. Some of the most significant are the nuraghic village of Tiscali, unique in its genre and found on the inside of a karstic dolina and visible thanks to the collapsing of a cave's roof on the homonymous mountain, and the village of Serra Orrios, one of the most important in Sardinia with respect to it state of conservation including approximately 70 huts, a circular shape and two small, megaron temples.
For passionate archaeology fans, we also recommend excursions to the nuraghic village of Arvu, with Nuraghe, 120 huts and a few, very interesting structures that date back to a following Punic-Roman attendance, the Tomba dei Giganti S'ena 'e Thomes which has provided us with pre-nuraghic to early Middle Age findings, the dolmen Motorra constructed of basaltic stone which has been dated to approximately 2100 B.C. and the numerous domus de janas.
Part of the municipality of Dorgali also includes the hamlet of Cala Gonone which has inevitably becomes a town and is no longer inhabited only during the summer months.
There are numerous surrounding beaches and bays along the renowned Gulf of Orosei. Standing out amongst them is the grotta del Bue Marino which has always attracted thousands of tourists due to the presence of the monk seal, today just a far-off memory. It's also of interest due to the presence of pre-historic human evidence present on a wall; the engravings of twenty anthropomorphic figures accompanied by circular symbols.
Another important natural monument is the grotta di Ispinigoli where the tallest and most magnificent stalactite in all of Europe is found (38 m high). We also recommend visiting the city where history and tradition are entwined in the town's narrow alleys and where the antique dwellings in basaltic stone can be admired. Not to be forgotten is St. Catherine's church from the 1900's, with its wooden, baroque-Spanish-styled altar from the XVII Century, Carmelo's church, the city park S'Atturia and the Archaeological Museum which collects many of the Dorgali area's findings from the Neolithic to Medieval times.
Tourism has provided a large contribution to the conservation of Dorgali's patrimony; many businesses still thrive on the artisans' manual ability and creativity. Among its sought-after products are filigree, ceramics, carpets and leather goods as well as the wine and gastronomy sector.
Also playing an important role are the festivities, called festas 'e pandelas (festivity of the vexillum). The celebrated saint's vexillum is conserved and protected by the prior's family that organises the celebration the following year. The following are among the most important celebrations: St. Anthony Abbot (Jan. 16th-17th), St. Sebastiano (Jan. 19th-20th), " Su Babbu Mannu " (the celebration of the Holy Spirit, Saturday preceding Pentecost), the Madonna del Buoncammino (last Sunday in May), S. Giovanni Battista (June 24th), St. Pantaleo (July 27th) and Saints Cipriano and Cornelio, the town's patron saints (Sept. 16th-17th).