Parco Sette Fratelli (National Park)


The park covers an area of extraordinary beauty. The regional law which awarded the area national park status, safeguards the mountain range, declared a national monument, and the forest, an area of great natural interest. Most of the park is covered by holm oak, cork trees and Mediterranean shrub, as well as heather and strawberry bushes.

This park provides the ideal habitat for the Sardinian deer (cervus elaphus corsicanus), endemic subspecies of the European deer. Today about 350 specimens live in the park and this represents roughly 35% of the entire existing population.

The greatest threat to the Sardinian deer comes from poachers. Among the large birds of prey in the area there are at least 5 pairs of golden eagles, however, colonies of griffin, cinereus vulture and ossifrage have sadly been wiped out. Among the birds at risk there are also species of woodpecker and swallow.


The park is home to numerous mammals, including mountain cats, martens, wild boar, moufflon and fallow deer. The paths in the park were made by coal merchants who, in the past, used the trees in these woods for coal, and visitors who venture into the heart of the park are rewarded with extraordinary sights and emotions. There is also a museum in the park, which was set up by the forest rangers and is entirely dedicated to the Sardinian deer.


Cagliari is an excellent startingpoint for visitors wishing to experience this natural haven. Following the SS 125 (Eastern Sardinian highway), before reaching Campu Omu, visitors have to turn off the main road and on to a dirt road, which winds round the whole mountain, rich in woods, streams and Mediterranean shrub land. It is worth pausing at the first bridge to visit the Domus de Janas, known as Ome S'Orcu (The House of the Ogre). When visitors arrive at the Cosoleddu plateau they are greeted with a breathtaking panorama of a part of Cagliari, its Gulf and the surrounding hinterland, whilst on the other side there is a view of the beautiful beach of Geremeas.