• The old town centres of Alghero, Bosa and Santu Lussurgiu



• The impressive sacred well of Santa Cristina



• The griffon vulture



• Slow food district of Montiferru



• The Sinis wetlands and the Tharros archaeological site

Programme

Arrival day
Transfer or individual arrival at Alghero, meet up with the Dolcevita rep for a briefing on the route, handover of bicycles and info pack. Dinner and overnight stay.

1st day: Alghero loop tour (47/62 km)
Your tour starts with a visit by bike to the old fortifications and the appealing historic centre of Alghero, a splendid Aragonese city. Leaving Alghero, we come to the prehistoric bastion of Nuraghe Palmavera. Then on to Capo Caccia, an imposing rocky outcrop 168 m high, looking out over the sea and then to lake Baratz, the only natural lake in Sardinia where you can visit the Environmental Education Experience Centre. Back to Alghero through countryside covered with vineyards and olive groves, producing world renowned oil and wines.

2nd day: Alghero – Bosa (50 km)
Bike along a scenic coastal road across the cliffs overlooking the sea and admire the view of the gulf of Alghero and Capo Caccia. Emotions continue as you catch a glimpse of the pink, red and grey cliffs of Cape Marargiu. Your day ends in Bosa, a medieval town famous for its fine embroidery and gold filigree works.

3rd day: Bosa loop (21/62 km)
The short leg meanders through the vineyards along the Malvasia wine route, with tasting of these famous DOC wines at the various caves. The long leg is a ring route round the area where the griffons nest, going up towards Montresta and passing by the nuraghe Appiu, as far as the spectacular rocky outcrops and inlets of Capo Marrargiu, where if you are lucky you’ll breed of Mediterranean vulture.

4th day: Bosa – Santu Lussurgiu (41/55 km)
Today’s route is flanked by vineyards and olive groves as far as Flussio and Tinnura, two small towns famous for their reed and wicker baskets and for their murales (wall paintings). Then on through the pasturelands of Sagama, with Mediterranean brush landscape stretching as far as the eye can see, until you reach the springs of San Leonardo, the area richest in water of the whole of Sardinia. At Santu Lussurgiu a well-deserved rest at a charming diffuse hotel, consisting of several tastefully restored old houses.

5th day: Santu Lussurgiu loop (42 km)
Visit the rural museum in Santulussurgiu and cycle to the archaeological site of Santa Cristina to admire the impressive sacred well dating back 1800BC.

6th day:Santu Lussurgiu – San Salvatore di Sinis (50 km)
Today you will discover the splendid natural scenery of the Montiferru, a ‘slow-food’ area famous for its much appreciated Sardinian-Modican cows and its typical casizzolu, a stretched curd cheese. The land slopes down to the sea, bringing us to the Marine Protected Area of the Sinis, home to pink flamingo and herons. Here we take a dirt track flanking a series of white quartz beaches. Then on through a charming fishermen’s hamlet, where you will find one of the most important Early Christian churches in Sardinia, and continue to Tharros, a fascinating archaeological site on the sea shore, with a wealth of Phoenician and Roman remains. The tour ends at San Salvatore Sinis.

Departure day
After breakfast, end of services.