Italy - Sardinia

A very special needle, and a very special location. Aguglia Goloritze rises 200m above the emerald green Mediterranean sea. It has a handful of routes that all finish on the tiny pointed summit, with beautiful views of the coastline and its fascinating rock formations. The cliff is solid, perhaps getting a little polished, particularly on the popular routes, but nevertheless a summit that should be on most people's tick list.

Situated just above the town of Ulassai, the canyon is a great summer destination with excellent climbing in all grades. It gets the shade in the afternoon and coupled with the altitude remains cool. Spring and autumn are also suitable for climbing.

Actually a continuation of the main Ulassai canyon, more easily reached from the sports field north of the town. The cave is a small gorge that gives steep, strenuous climbing on tufas and edges. Can be damp and cold outside the summer months.

The neighbour to Villagico Gallico, Creûza de Mä offers a similar selection of routes, also on good rock, the harder ones being a bit steeper.

A real roadside crag, you can almost belay from the car in this impressive little gorge. The gorge is actually a set of cliffs and a fin of rock, the road winds its way through this and from the top a footpath connects you to the cave at su Marmuri close to Ulassai. Legend has it that the gorge was created by St George, the bishop of Suelli, who wanted to reach Osini, but was blocked by the rocks, and so ordered them to open up. Whatever, the climbing here is short, steep, technical and fingery, and best suited to the warmer months, it can get cold in the winter.

Excellent, often difficult climbing on steep slabs and walls. L'Isola de Tesoro is set in a beautiful location with magnificent views over the surrounding countryside. It faces west and gets the sun in the afternoon. Bolting is usually very good.

The steep walls of Lecorci offer lots of good, hard climbing that requires strong fingers and good technique. It is very quickly reached and gets the sun in the morning.

The impressive 400m cliff south of Punta Giradili and east of the small town of Baunei is one of the best big walls in Sardinia, if not the whole of Italy. A cross between Verdon Gorge and the Calanques.

All the routes are fully bolted although sometimes not too closely, so a few backup wires and cams might be useful. Bring two 60m ropes.

A small friendly crag right next to the harbour. Well worth a visit.

A huge crag just round the corner from Ulassai. The routes are of excellent quality, and set in a beautiful location. Although it is 100m high, at present it has been bolted for single pitch routes, many of which require an 80m rope. ALWAYS TIE A KNOT IN THE END OF YOUR ROPE. Note that because the crag is relatively new, not all the grades have "settled down" yet, treat with caution.

The big obvious crag behind the grassy Barigau Piazza in Ulassai. Torre dei Venti offers steep wall climbing on small holds.

Visible from the road as you drive down towards the lake, Urania is a good looking crag with some very steep bouldery routes.

A pleasant roadside crag near to the coast in beautiful surroundings. Villagico Gallico offers a nice selection of slab and wall climbs, well bolted and in the shade in the afternoon.