Cala Luna
A freshwater lake that separates the sandy shore from the land behind it, the oleander wood that frames the beach, and that suggestive name that evokes romantic lunar luminescence. It becomes immediately obvious that Cala Luna is a beach that fully deserves the definition of “Pearl of the Mediterranean”, which it is often given in tourist-promotional descriptions of the coast. Here, on this fabulous beach, the territory of Baunei borders Dorgali, a fact that may seem a little odd to visitors who know little of Sardinian matters, given that the coastal village of Dorgali, called Cala Gonone, is just 7 km from Cala Luna, while Santa Maria Navarrese, a district of Baunei, is located 40 km south. According to some scholars, the situation is easily explained if we accept the hypothesis that Dorgali was founded by Baunesis herdsmen. This theory is also mentioned by Angius, who noted the following when describing the Dorgali behaviour and customs: “These settlers came from the nearby territory of Ugliastra, Baunèi or Ursulè, (…)”. There is another interesting detail about the history of the beach’s name. It is not common knowledge that the poetic name “Cala Luna” is perceived by local people as a corruption of the Sardinian town’s name, which in Baunei sounds like Cala “Elùne” and in Dorgali like Cala “Ilùne”. It seems that the “romantic” deformation is owed to geographers who arrived from Piedmont in the nineteenth century with a mandate to update the maps of the “Kingdom of Sardinia”. Cala “Elùne” thereby became “Cala Luna” just like, for example, the “Golfo de li ranci” (the “Gulf of crabs” according fishermen) near Olbia, became “Golfo Aranci” (the “Gulf of Oranges”) and the island “de Malu Entu “(“of the bad wind”), in the Channel of Sardinia, became the island “di Mal di Ventre” (of stomach ache”). At Cala Luna, as at Cala Sisine, a tavern (opened in 1978) was built on the ruins of the coalman’s pantry whose name, “Su Neulagi” (“the oleander”, in Sardinian) is a kind of homage to the wood that facing the freshwater lake. In 1974, this spectacular scenery attracted the attention of director Lina Wertmuller, who decided to shoot some scenes of the unforgettable film “Travolti da un insolito destino nell’azzurro mare d’agosto”, starring Mariangela Melato and Giancarlo Giannini at Cala Luna. A film that somehow, with its long title, seemed to predict “the unusual fate” of the territory of Baunei and Santa Maria Navarrese: a territory that over the space of a few decades turned from a depressed land of herdsmen-farmers to one of the most attractive tourist destinations in all of Sardinia.
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‘Cala dei Gabbiani’ (Seagull Cove): this beach, about 250 metres long, owes its name to the fact that dozens of seagulls gather here every evening around sunset.
Venus’ Pools, located on the coast of Baunei, a short distance from Grotta del Fico and Cala Biriala, crystal clear water.
Divided into two parts by a large rock used as a docking pier by the barges carrying tourists, it is now known by the double name of ‘Ispuligidenie – Cala Mariolu’.
The “Grotta dei Colombi” is only accessible by sea and in order to see the stunning majesty of the vault up close, it is necessary to sail very close to the cliff.
A beach, that of Cala Luna, which already at first glance shows that it fully deserves the definition of ‘Pearl of the Mediterranean’.
The promontory of Capo Monte Santu marks the southern border of the Gulf of Orosei, whose northern border is at Capo Comino.
Cala Goloritzé, Baunei Coast: spectacular beach framed by limestone, crystal clear sea and mountains. A popular destination for excursions and climbing.
To the north of Pedra Longa is “Forrola” bay, dominated by the majestic “Punta Giradili”, which, at 765 metres, is one of the highest cliffs in the Mediterranean.
Inland from Cala Sisine, about an hour’s walk from the beach, it is a very evocative cave, whose very name reveals some curious characteristics: it is called the “Grotta del Miracolo” (“Su Meraculu”, in Sardinian).