WHO CAN SOLVE THE MYSTERY?

Plunge into Sardinia’s dramatic landscapes, thousand-year-old history and unsolved enigmas on a hike to the remote, prehistoric village of Tiscali. Nestled inside a karst sinkhole, atop Mount Tiscali, the ruins of this ancient settlement are considered to be one of the region’s most fascinating archaeological sites.

This experience begins by the natural springs of Su Gologone. From here, with your private guide leading the way, you will set off on a stimulating but strenuous 2-hour hike, through the beautiful, unspoilt Lanaittu Valley and up the rugged slopes of Mount Tiscali. Be prepared for a fair amount of steep uphill walking on rocky, uneven terrain. Some sections can be challenging and physically demanding but the endless parade of marvellous views are well worth the effort and will spur you on to reach to the top.

Tiscali is completely hidden from sight until you reach the dolina depression through an opening in the rock. Once inside you will see an unreconstructed set of ruins, formerly a village dating as far back as the Bronze Age. The ruins are found near the walls of a cavity that was created after the collapse of the vault of an ancient grotto. This peculiar location had two major advantages: it allowed the villagers to remain unseen and protected from attacks and, at the same time, to survey the valley through the breach at the summit. Two groups of stone huts make up the settlement. To the north, about forty circular and rectangular-shaped huts were used as dwellings while the twenty smaller rectangular huts to the south-east served as stores for supplies or shelters for animals. Doors were made out of wood lintels while the roofing was built from juniper trunks and branches.

The origins of Tiscali are still something of a mystery though some historians believe the village was built and inhabited between the 15th and 8th centuries BC and later repopulated during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC perhaps up until the High Middle Ages. Despite the fact that very little is left, the site is thought-provoking and raises many questions about the people who lived here, and how they must have struggled to survive in such secluded, inhospitable terrain. What prompted ancient Sardinians to take refuge here? Were they escaping from an enemy? How did they access water? Given the difficulty of cultivating crops and breeding animals on the karst stone, what did they eat? Your guide will help you piece together the past by recounting intriguing facts and offering some enlightening explanations. However, many aspects of the mystery remain obscure and there are still numerous, unanswered gaps in the puzzle.

After the tour and an encounter with Sardinia’s captivating past, as you hike back to the starting point you will not be the first to find yourself deeply charmed by the magnetic spell of a region that strives both to preserve and display its precious, recondite treasures.