Between Sea and Mines
In the south-west of Sardinia, between abandoned mining villages, a crystal clear sea and wild nature in a round trip not too challenging for those who will measure up to the first adventures in MTB.
A mtb tour that mixes the inn to inn formula with some scouting trips around the 3 hotels we choose for you in this tour.
- MTB tour
- Self guided
- Inn to Inn
- 8 days / 7 nights
- Start & end: Cagliari
- Difficulty: 2+/5
- From April to October
- Visit Iglesias and its historical center
- Get in touch with the Marganai forest and nature in south west of Sardinia
- Discover our old mining civilization
- Ride along Costa Verde
- Take your time at the beaches and natural spots you will find along the way
- The briefing on the arrival
- 7 nighs in 3*** stars hotel, agriturismo and typical B&B
- 7 breakfast
- 4 dinners
- Luggage transport from hotel to hotel
- Gps + track rental
- Booklet with all info about the tour
- Transfer on day 1 an 7 included.
- The Journey to and from Sardinia
- 3 dinners
- Drinks at meals
- Insurance
- Local tourist tax
- Transfer on day 8
- Anything not specified in “The fee includes”
D1 Arrival in Cagliari
Independent arrival in Cagliari e transfer to Iglesias
Accommodation in hotel, briefing and free time.
D2 La Regina
From Iglesias an easy mtb trip will bring you very close to the ruins of the Castle di Gioiosa Guardia and the S’Ortu Mannu park where you can admire an “ultra millennarian” olive tree called Sa Regina (The Queen).
By Bike: approx 48kms- Total Ascent 450 m
D3 Ghost Villages
By bike to discover abandoned villages in southwest of Sardinia!
Passing the Grotte di San Giovanni, you will enter into the forest of Marganai; maybe one of Europe’s biggest Mediterranean natural forests, and from there, continue along the path where you can explore abandoned villages and mines.
In the late afternoon, arrival to Portixeddu and accommodation in your hotel close to the sea.
By bike approx 45 kms – Total Ascent 800
D4 La Costa Verde
From Portixeddu to the heart of the Costa Verde for a bike trip not too long, but sometimes tough, that ultimately will bring you up to Scivu: a strip of fine sand between the green of the Mediterranean maquis and a sea that is a mix of emerald green and intense blue.
By Bike: approx 30 kms- Total Ascent 600 m
D5 The “Pan di zucchero
From Portixeddu to Nebida, your trip will lead you to the discovery of abandoned mining villages!
After Buggerru, small mining village once known as Petit Paris (or Little Paris) due to the intellectual cultural environment that the mining executives recreated during the mine’s golden period, you will continue until you reach Cala Domestica, a delightful inlet made up of two beaches that are connected to each other by a tunnel dug out by the miners.
Late evening arrival at Nebida, small village with a view of the white rock of the Pan di zucchero (sugar-loaf).
By bike approx 40 kms – Total Ascent 850 m
D6 Rest?
Today you can choose to stay in a hotel to rest or you can continue your exploration on the saddle of your mountain bike!
This trip will take you from Nebida to the countryside where, until the late 50s, there were still active mines for the extraction of zinc and lead.
By Bike: approx 30 kms- Total Ascent 600 m
D7 Towards Villa di Chiesa
More discoveries and fun in a mtb trip that will finally bring you to Iglesias; medieval city and important centre for the entire mining district.
In the city do not forget to visit the Museo dell’arte Mineraria (Museum of Mining Arts) and the tunnels dug out during the last century by the students of the Istituto Tecnico Minerario (Technical Institute of Mining) which were also used as a refuge during World War II.
In the afternoon, meeting with the Ichnusabike representatives and transfer to Cagliari.
By bike approx 30 kms – Total Ascent 700 m
D8 Departure
Our services end after breakfast.
Greetings and departure or by request you may extend your stay to enjoy a few days of relax by the sea.
