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WALK 2

Monte Corrasi from Oliena

Start/Finish	Oliena
Alternative Start/Finish	Coop Enis (if arriving by car or taxi – just follow signs to Coop Enis and avoid the road walking)
Distance	12km (from Coop Enis) or 20km (7½ or 12½ miles)
Total Ascent/Descent	850 or 1200m (2790 or 3935ft)
Time	4 or 6hrs
Terrain	A road and track climb high into the mountains, with rugged paths over the highest parts
Maps	IGMI ‘Serie 50’ 500, ‘Serie 25’ 500 III
Refreshment	Plenty of choice in Oliena; bar at Coop Enis
Transport/Access	Regular daily buses serve Oliena from Nuoro and Dorgali

Monte Corrasi is the highest of a formidable group of mountains towering high above Oliena. A winding road and a zigzag track seem to climb for ever on its slopes, allowing steep and rocky mountainsides to be scaled with relative ease. A rugged path crosses the summit and offers extensive views.

The vehicle track climbs high above Oliena, offering a relatively easy climb towards Monte Corrasi

Start from the church, Chiesa Santa Maria, around 350m (1150ft) in Oliena. Walk through the cobbled Piazza Santa Maria, up a granite-paved road. Just before the tourist information office, turn left up steps through an amphitheatre to the comune building on Piazza Aldo Moro. Follow the cobbled Via Dr Antonio Puligheddu left of the building and turn left up the steep Salita Agostino Depretis. Climb steps and turn right along Via Ippolito Nievo, then left up Via Monte Grappa to the ‘Localita Turistica Monte Maccione’ sign. Turn left up Via Maggiore Toselli, and continue straight up Via Corrasi and straight up a concrete road signposted ‘Coop Enis'.

Pass Sos Pisches B&B, over 450m (1475ft), climbing a very bendy concrete road on a steep slope of holm oak, cypress and pines. Pass a small car park at Coop Enis, where there is a hotel, bar/restaurant and campsite around 700m (2300ft). Continue along a gravel road, which becomes concrete again, flanked by dense holm oak apart from a little viewpoint. Concrete gives way to gravel, so fork left up a broad path across densely wooded slopes. Join a stone-paved track, turn left to climb, and it reverts to concrete.

Keep left at a junction at Daddana. The return route joins the outward route here. The concrete track ends at a turning place around a tree. Climb a bendy, stony track, passing stone huts. Holm oaks grow tall and stout on grassy slopes studded with big boulders. Follow the most obvious track as it winds uphill, supported by buttresses, with ever-expanding views. Steep limestone slopes feature amazing buttresses and pinnacles, then the track reaches a turning space at Scala ‘e Pradu, at 1227m (4026ft).

Here four paths branch apart, and the one for Monte Corrasi is the furthest right, passing a little shrine. Follow it into a dip, where there is a sheepfold down to the left. The path is clear as it climbs a rocky, stone-strewn slope with tufts of matted vegetation. Cross a rise and drop a little, then climb more steeply, passing rocky stumps. A vegetated groove climbs between rocks, past a few hawthorns, with a bouldery slope and steep, rugged terrain beyond. Level out, climb another rocky, stone-strewn slope, then level out on a grassy shoulder. The path splits, and while this isn't obvious, it is important.

Looking back to the bare rock slopes of Monte Corrasi on the descent to Scala ‘e Marras

A well-worn path heads right, climbing to the bare limestone summit of Monte Corrasi, at 1463m (4800ft). The views from its abrupt edge are extensive, stretching east to the mountains of Ogliastra and the coast, sweeping north and far inland beyond Nuoro, then west and south to the Gennargentu massif. Walk back down to the grassy shoulder and turn right along the other path, watching for cairns to confirm it. This path becomes significantly tougher, so if in doubt, retrace your steps to Coop Enis and Oliena.

The path leads down through a vegetated cleft in the mountainside. Walk through it and later climb from it, picking a way carefully down a rocky, stone-strewn slope. Admire the amazing rugged scenery, but also watch for cairns, and take special care to avoid the rocky ridge. Pass beneath the boughs of a prominent tree, then almost level out to follow a broad, rocky part of the ridge. Looking back, Monte Corrasi appears as a perfect cone. Follow the path until it drops again and the cone passes from sight.

Take care to spot the path swinging right across the crest at Scala ‘e Marras, around 1250m (4100ft). There is a glimpse back to the cone, while a cairn confirms the route. This sharp right turn is on bare limestone, then the path slices across the western slopes on a falling traverse. Rocky, stony slopes give way to holm oak woods with clearings. One steep descent is followed by a short climb, otherwise the path is narrow and occasionally vague. Keep watching for cairns and later drop onto a track.

Turn right, gently rising and falling as the track crosses a slope of holm oak and arbutus, with rock towers and buttresses high above. A narrow path leads onwards, rising and falling across a steep, crumbling, wooded slope and crossing a boulder-jam below Monte Corrasi. A wire fence leads onwards and the path drops to a track. Turn right to walk up it, passing a spring in a dip. The track climbs across a mountain pasture dotted with trees, and later runs downhill at Daddana. Reach a bend on a concrete track followed earlier in the day, turn left and retrace steps to Coop Enis or Oliena to finish.