Climbing Punta La Marmora in the Gennargentu

Everyone knows Sardinia's sea, but very few know its roof. Punta La Marmora, in the Gennargentu massif, is the highest summit on the island, yet it remains one of the least-visited places in a land that is stormed by crowds every summer. While the coasts fill up, here silence reigns, along with wind-swept uplands and mouflons crossing the slopes. This is the heart of Barbagia, in the province of Nuoro, a barren and austere Sardinia that looks nothing like the seaside postcard.

The climb

The classic ascent starts from the Bruncu Spina plateau, reachable from the area around Fonni, the highest village on the island. From here a route on dirt tracks and paths climbs towards the ridge, first passing near Bruncu Spina, the massif's second-highest peak, and then continuing along the plateau to Punta La Marmora, recognisable by the cairn of stones and the remains of structures at its top. The walk unfolds mostly above the treeline, through a landscape of rock, tough grass and low-lying junipers, with sweeping views that on clear days reach the sea on both flanks of the island.

The beauty of this trek lies precisely in the sense of space and emptiness. There are no crowded mountain huts, no queues on the trails: you are more likely to meet shepherds, semi-wild horses and, with a little luck and attention, the mouflons that have one of their strongholds here. The setting is that of a high-altitude Mediterranean plateau, one of a kind, where the Sardinian mountains reveal their most authentic and least tamed character.

Getting there

To get here it is best to have a car: the Fonni area and the accesses to the plateau are not well served by public transport, and the trailheads lie along mountain roads. From Nuoro you head inland to reach Fonni and then the dirt tracks leading towards Bruncu Spina. The climb to Punta La Marmora presents no technical difficulties, but it is a genuine mountain hike: it requires fit legs, proper footwear and the ability to find your way, because signage is minimal and in some stretches the paths blur among the rocks and pastures. The distances and elevation gain are best tackled by setting off early and allowing plenty of time for the return.

When to go

The right time is late summer and autumn, or early summer when the heat is not yet oppressive. June offers long days and still-green meadows, while September and October bring clear air, pleasant temperatures and a splendid light over the uplands. In the depths of July and August the heat and the lack of shade make the climb exhausting, and it is also the time when all the island's attention is turned to the beaches: this is why the Gennargentu stays empty precisely when the rest of Sardinia is packed. To climb here is to turn your back on the coastal crowds and rediscover a different island.

A practical tip: bring plenty of water, because springs on the plateau are rare and not always reliable, and count on wind and temperature swings even in summer, with an extra layer in your pack. Check the weather, because at altitude clouds can rise quickly and rob you of visibility on a ridge where orientation matters. If you can, go with someone who knows the area, or ask around well in the village before setting off: Barbagia rewards caution with one of the most solitary and grandiose panoramas in all of Sardinia.

It is worth pausing, before or after the climb, in the inland villages to catch another soul of the island. Fonni and the nearby towns preserve pastoral traditions, festivals, murals and a mountain cuisine of cheeses, bread and meats, worlds away from the seaside imagery. It is a world that still lives on transhumance and a close relationship with the mountains, and that welcomes those who arrive with genuine curiosity. Folding the ascent of Punta La Marmora into a wider journey through Barbagia means discovering an inland Sardinia that many visitors never even suspect, made of silences, uplands and rough but generous hospitality. This too is what makes the Gennargentu such a different experience from the rest of the island.