Bosco di Selèni and Gairo Vecchio
map of Bosco di Selèni and Gairo Vecchio
In the mountains of Ogliastra, you can take great day trips.
There are beautiful landscapes, many hiking trails through forests and across plateaus, and the Grotta su Marmuri near Ulassai.
Even if you are just traveling by car or motorcycle on the extremely winding roads, you will constantly be rewarded with fantastic views.
In the photo, you can see the Taccu di Osini – a table mountain whose plateau is home to the Nuraghe Serbissi and the viewpoint Punta Su Scrau.
On the slope of the mountain, you can visit the Grotta su Marmuri and the Scala di San Giorgio. Both are accessible by vehicle.
Higher up, you can only continue with an off-road vehicle, on foot, or by mountain bike.
Area Archeologica Bosco Selèni
On the SS198 between Lanusei and Gairo Sant’Elena, at km 85, there is a well-signposted turnoff to Selèni.
After about 800 meters, a large parking lot opens up on the left, where you will also find the ticket booth for the sights. (see map)
The sites to be visited are individually fenced off and spread out in the dense forest. You can also take nice walks on the well-signposted hiking trails, and there is a small hotel and a restaurant.
In the shady forest, there are stone picnic tables and benches, which are very popular with the Sardinians. On hot weekends, it can get quite crowded up here as locals escape the searing heat of the coast for the cooler mountains.
In the photo, you can see Seleni I, one of the Giants’ tombs of the park that can be visited. It was built in the 15th/16th century BC.
The second Giants’ tomb (Seleni II) was built about 100 years after the first and is only about 100 meters away from it.
The passage is about twice as long as in Seleni I, and the construction method differs as well.
While Seleni I could probably accommodate up to 80 deceased, Seleni II could accommodate almost twice as many.
Both tombs were built from granite, which greatly accelerates the decomposition of bones, allowing the graves to be reused multiple times.
The granite floor in Seleni II is still preserved.
A peculiarity of Seleni II are these granite blocks, known as “conci a cappelle”, each with three indentations.
Two of these blocks are still preserved, while only remnants of a third remain.
The function of these stones is not known, partly because the Nuragic people left no written records.
The blocks were likely part of an ancestor cult.
Next to the tomb, several so-called Baityloi (Italian: Betili) stood.
These are vertically placed stones that apparently served a stone cult common throughout the Mediterranean.
Some of these fallen stones still lie next to the tomb.
Nuraghe Gennacili
A bit southeast stands the Nuraghe of Seleni.
Unlike other nuraghi, which were mostly free-standing, this one incorporated existing rocks into its construction.
Below the nuraghe are the remains of a round hut village, which has not yet been fully excavated.
A sacred well has also been found within the complex.
Like the two giant tombs, the nuraghe can only be visited and climbed as part of a guided tour.
From the top, you have a wonderful view of the surrounding mountains.
For more information and opening hours, visit
Gairo Vecchio
If you continue inland from Selèni, you must cross the deep valley of the Riu Pardu.
On the northeast side of the valley stand the houses of the now uninhabited village of Gairo Vecchio.
The inhabitants had to leave the village in 1951 due to repeated landslides that made the ground unstable.
Some of the residents moved to the higher part of the village, Gairo Sant’Elena. Others founded the village of Gairo Taquisara a bit further inland, along the railway line of today’s Trenino Verde.
Another group of residents left the area entirely and founded a new settlement near the coast, which developed into the municipality of Cardedu.
The SS198 still runs through the ghost village today.
On the opposite side of the valley lie the ruins of Osini Vecchio, which also had to be abandoned in 1951. (see map)