Itinerary The Evolution Circuit Trail – ITID03

The route starts from the village of Genoni and passing by the peak of Cuccuru Corongiu reaches the village of Nuragus, where the Nuraghe di Santu Milanu and the sacred spring of Coni can be seen.  The stop at these two sites provides the interesting opportunity to learn about archaeology in Sardinia.

From here the path continues into the territory of Laconi, passing through the charming rural hamlet of Crastu.  Once in the village of Laconi, a must is a visit to the Museum of Prehistoric Sculpture to uncover the mysteries of the ancient statues menhirs discovered in the area.  A stop in the village gives the opportunity to fill the canteens, taste the local sweet bread called pan’ e sapa, and rest before hitting back the trail.

As the hike progresses, the land changes and becomes wilder, primitive, and uninhabited; the evergreen shrubs of the Mediterranean maquis grow denser and thicker, and the landscape becomes more rugged and craggy.  The route goes through the Genna Corte valley of statue menhirs, and skirting the Araxisi stream along a path of stunning scenery and panoramic views the trail reaches the territory of Asuni, where near the village can be seen another monument of archaeology in Sardinia:  the Domus de Janas, or House of the Fairies, a type of pre-Nuragic chamber tombs.

From the village of Asuni the trail continues towards the village of Genoni, where it ends. Once in Genoni, a visit to the fossils of the Miocene epoch in the P. AR.C. Museum, or a visit to the Civic Museum of the Wild Ponies of the Giara rounds off the day.

The variety of terrains and landscapes encountered in this trail contributes to make this day trip an emotional experience: from the inhabited farmlands of Genoni and Nuragus, through the plant richness and vegetation cover of the Mediterranean shrublands, to the rugged landscapes near Laconi and Asuni and the sheer cliff of the Araxisi river valley.