Cala Goloritzé

Cala Goloritzé is a small cove at the southern end of the Gulf of Orosei, on the wild eastern coast of Sardinia in the municipality of Baunei. It is younger than it looks: the pale fan of pebbles on which people now lie was brought down by a landslide in 1962. What frames it is far older limestone, cut into three shapes that make the place unmistakable — a white shingle beach, a natural arch opening on its right-hand side, and above everything a needle of rock, the Aguglia, rising 143 metres over the cove.

The spire is a landmark of Italian climbing. It was first climbed in the late 1970s by Maurizio Zanolla, known as Manolo, and Alessandro Gogna, and a route with the fanciful name "Sinfonia dei Mulini a Vento" became one of its classics. From the beach the climbers look tiny against the grey-gold wall. Below them the water shades from almost colourless over the white stones to deep blue a few metres out, and a spring of fresh water rises through cracks in the rock and runs straight into the sea.

The cove has been protected longer and more strictly than most Mediterranean beaches. Sardinia declared it a natural monument in 1993, and it became an Italian national monument in 1995. Since 2007 motorboats have been kept out of a 200-metre strip along the shore and landing is forbidden, so the only way onto the sand is on foot. In 2025 the ranking The World's 50 Best Beaches placed Goloritzé first in the world.

Getting there

The cove lies in the municipality of Baunei; the nearest large town is Nuoro, about 39 km away as the crow flies but much further by the mountain roads. The nearest airport is Olbia Costa Smeralda (OLB), about 89 km away. The trail starts on the Golgo plateau above Baunei and drops about 470 metres to the sea, roughly an hour and a half each way; book a place ahead. Boats from Arbatax and Santa Maria Navarrese pass by offshore but cannot land.